


Broken Angels

by JRW9699



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Batwoman (TV 2019), Black Lightning (TV), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Injustice: Gods Among Us, Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 29
Words: 23,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23449345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JRW9699/pseuds/JRW9699
Summary: Star City has fallen silent. The night is no longer broken by the sounds of crime. Children are no longer woken by the sudden crack of a gunshot. There are no more cries in the darkness. No tires screech as wailing sirens chase desperate men and women through the streets. In a way, it is the city Oliver always dreamed of. But it is no dream.It is a nightmare. A perversion.It is the silence of fear.A silence only broken by the sound of marching feet. A sound that echoes around the world. Marching feet. The rhythm of dictators. The world is now ruled by an iron fist –By a Girl of Steel.
Relationships: Alex Danvers & Kara Danvers, Kara Danvers & Oliver Queen, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 88
Kudos: 85





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So while 'Falling in Love with Love' is still my main focus, I've been working on his as a side project for a while now. This is just the introductory chapters, build up to the main story. When 'Falling in Love with Love' is finished the actual Injustice rewrite is going to be the next project I take on. While it won't be a direct sequel (that's a different kettle of fish which needs a lot more planning) it will be a sort of crossover type event, mostly because it'll help me set things up for future instalments.  
> This whole thing is only around 12K words, but it's something I figured posting in the off time between chapters of 'Falling in Love with Love' would keep y'all happy.  
> Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The covert art below was done by 3rd-eyer over on DeviantArt. Would highly advise you go and check the rest of his stuff out and give him some love, but quick warning that there is some NSFW content on his account.

__

_Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Super hearing trumps all of that tonight, because tonight I woke to the single greatest sound I ever heard –_

“Kara?” Lena’s groggy voice was little more than a whisper. “What is it?”

_The sound of two heartbeats coming from one person._

The grin on her face was fixed in place as Kara sat upright in the bed, the covers pooling at her waist. Even half asleep and muted by the deep blue hue of the night Lena was a striking image, and Kara couldn’t help but to feel her wife’s beauty amplified by the knowledge that there was another life growing inside her. Kara jumped out of the bed, her mind racing with a million possibilities for the future, pacing the floor as she ran through anything and everything that leapt to the forefront.

“We need to get everything checked thoroughly. I’ll contact STAR Labs, I trust Caitlin to be discreet.” Kara began, her pace quickening.

“Kara?” Lena tried to interject but the Kryptonian continued.

“There shouldn’t be any danger in the first trimester but I’m not leaving it to chance. We’ll need a different place, obviously, can’t stay in the penthouse.”

“Kara!”

“Maybe we should move away from National City. Midvale would be a much safer and more private place to raise a child with powers. But I’d prefer National City High to—”

Kara was cut off from her rambling as something heavy collided with the side of her head. The Kryptonian wheeled around, grabbing the offending object before it could fall to the ground. Kara looked down, her hand closed around the hardback copy of _War and Peace_ that Lena kept on the bedside table. Tuning to the bed, Kara saw a sheepish looking Lena, a coy smile on her face as she sat upright.

“Did you just throw a book at me?”

“You’re invulnerable,” Lena huffed as she got out of bed and began to walk over to Kara. “I should be able to throw satisfyingly heavy objects at you sometimes.”

Lena stopped a few paces from Kara, a grin creeping onto her face as the two women held each other’s eyes.

“It worked then?” Lena asked, her eyes flicking downward for a brief moment.

“It worked.” Kara beamed, her smile growing even brighter.

“Well,” Lena allowed a smile to consume her lips, reaching to wrap her arms around Kara’s neck. “I’m glad our _fetus_ has a high school picked out already, but I need you to slow down that super-speed brain. Let’s just enjoy this moment.”

Kara’s brain finally dropped out of overdrive when Lena pushed herself forward and pressed her lips to Kara’s. Humming unconsciously in pleasure, Kara’s arms moved to wrap around Lena, pulling her even closer. The two revelled in the other’s embrace, stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, bathed in the glow of the moon and the light of the city. The sheer ecstasy running thorough their minds at knowing Lena’s experimental DNA sequencer had worked, she was pregnant, they would have a daughter.

The moment was shattered a moment later, Lena’s phone lighting up on the beside table. With a groan of frustration, Lena grabbed the offending device and glanced at the notification.

“It’s Luthor Corp,” Lena grumbled, dropping her phone down on the bed and making for the wardrobe. “Something tripped the security systems in R&D, probably just a false alarm but I’ve got to go and check it out.”

“I should come with you.”

“Oh, should you?” Lena smirked as she slipped into a dress. “I don’t remember you being so protective before you found out I was pregnant. Maybe you only care about the baby.” Ignoring the petulant look Kara gave her, Lena pressed on, grabbing a jacket as she did. “ _Ah-ha_! Your plan is finally apparent, alien. You have come to this planet only to breed, and you have chosen Earth’s most beautiful woman for your nefarious alien scheme.”

After Lena grabbed her handbag from the wardrobe, slinging it over her shoulder, she turned and looked back to Kara, who was trying to hide her smile and remain stern. Knowing she was already on a winner with her wife (and as both of them knew that Kara wouldn’t be able to tell Lena what to do anyway), Lena continued.

“Kara, I’m not spending nine months sitting on the couch and getting fat while you go out and fight death rays. That’s not how I operate.”

“I’ll worry.” Kara’s voice was smaller.

“I know.” Lena smiled softly. “If only there were some way for you to keep an eye on me at all times. If only you had some sort of incredible x-ray vision combined with telescopic vision and…wait a minute.”

Kara was grinning openly at that. “Okay, okay, I get it.” The Kryptonian rolled her eyes as Lena walked back up to her. “I know I can’t…” Kara trailed off, her attention to snapping to something out the window that Lena couldn’t see.

“What is it? Trouble?”

Kara hummed for a moment. “I’m not sure.”

“Then we both have somewhere to be.” Lena pointed out. “Don’t worry, you know how much Lex forks out for Luthor Corp’s security, I’ll be safe.”

Before Kara could answer her, Lena reached out, cupping her wife’s cheek and pulling her in for a kiss.

“Go save the world.”

_XXX_

Trouble, as it turned out, was Green Arrow. It didn’t take Kara long to find him, Oliver wasn’t the subtlest when it came to brawling. In an alley not too far from the penthouse she and Lena shared Kara found him, engaged in a fist fight with a group of street thugs. Kara floated down slowly, allowing Oliver to continuing fighting. Her instincts told her to help him, after all she could wrap up the fight before they could blink, but Oliver wasn’t one to appreciate help when he hadn’t asked for it. Plus, she was riding the high of the night’s revelation, Kara was feeling generous.

Dropping down to the ground, Kara leaned up against the wall, the thugs spared her a glance, but seeing that she wasn’t interfering they focused on The Green Arrow.

“What are you doing in National City?” Kara asked.

“I’m on my way to the Starchives unit,” Oliver answered as he dropped a thug with a gut kick. “Something sensitive was taken.”

“You could have called.” Kara pointed out, but Oliver ignored her.

As he dropped the final thug, Kara lifted from the ground. “When you’re done, meet me up top.”

It couldn’t have taken Oliver more than a minute to clean up the thugs and scale the building Kara had perched herself on. She had taken a seat on the edge of the roof, legs idly kicking out, unable to keep still, her grin not fading in the slightest. Oliver's footsteps were light, but Kara heard him the moment he set foot on the rooftop.

“I have news.” Kara grinned, not turning around.

“Lena’s pregnant.”

Kara jumped to her feet at that, spinning around to face Oliver. His hood and mask were down, a faint wisp of a grin tugging at his lips, bow clasped in both hands behind his back. 

“How did you—”

“You’re sweating, your hands are trembling, you can’t stop fidgeting. You’re Kryptonian, you don’t usually show any outward signs of fear or stress. Last time I saw you like this you were going head to head with Reign. And I doubt Sam’s turned again, because you’re grinning like an idiot.”

Kara’s smile somehow grew at that. Letting his smile finally break out fully onto his lips, Oliver walked to the edge of the building, dropping down to sit on the ledge as Kara had been. The Kryptonian followed suit, returning to her perch and sitting at Oliver's side. The two sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, looking out at the twinkling night of National City.

“We want you to be the Godfather.” Kara spoke suddenly.

Oliver's head jerked to the left, staring at Kara in shock for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.

“I…are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Oh, come on,” Kara beamed. “You and Lena have known each other since you were kids, and we…we’re good right?”

Oliver didn’t answer, his gaze returning to the skyline, but the smile slowly returned to his lips.

“I heard her heartbeat, Ollie.”

_XXX_

It was sunrise before Oliver finally managed to reach the Starchives facility in National City. He had stayed on the rooftop with Kara a little longer, allowing her to babble openly about Lena and the pregnancy. It was…nice, to see her so happy. It was more than she could ever have hoped for with anyone else. He knew what the pregnancy meant for Kara, it was more than it would be for any human. It meant a chance at something greater, a chance for her to have someone else like her, another Kryptonian. She had something similar with Mon-El, but it wasn’t the same, there was too much animosity between their people for he and Kara to ever have been able to fill the hole that was left by losing both their peoples. And Oliver himself…he had never been able to give her anything close to what she needed, he was too damaged. The baby was a chance for something Oliver wasn’t sure he would ever be able to understand.

“Was anything else stolen?” Oliver turned his attention back to the situation at hand.

He was hunched over a broken storage device, the lead case torn open, the tell-tale signs of an explosion littering the area. The case was scorched, the metallic shards that had splintered from it littering the area.

“A small amount of equipment, but nothing as significant. You can understand why we didn’t contact Supergirl.” The scientist answered.

“You were storing Kryptonite here.” Oliver stated, getting back to his feet.

“Not to hurt Supergirl, we were running tests on it, seeing if there was a way to convert it into a power source. See if it could cure diseases. We’re scientists, not monsters.”

“Well, it’s in the hands of monsters now.” Oliver commented, turning his gaze to the handful of corpses that had been moved into a neat row in the centre of the room. “I want a list of everyone who had knowledge of that Kryptonite’s existence. No one leaves this facility until…”

Oliver was cut over as a powerful gust of wind blew through the room. The red blur faded away and Oliver was face to face with Supergirl. Kara’s usually perfect hair was mussed, her eyes wide, her breath heavy. The scientist stumbled back a pace, stunned.

“I can’t see her.” Kara burst out, her voice shaking. “I can’t see Lena.”

“We’re not alone, Supergirl,” Oliver pointed out, nodding towards the scientist. “Maybe we should…”

Kara cut over him, holding out her hand.

“ _He_ has her.”

Oliver reached out, taking the arrow that had been in Kara’s hand carefully. It was as black as night, the metal cold even through the padding of Oliver's gloves. The tip was stained red, the blood still not dried.

“Please, _help me_ ,” Kara pleaded, her hands gripping Oliver's shoulders. “Find her.”

Oliver nodded, pressing a hand to his chest to switch on his comms.

“Overwatch, I need an all frequencies broadcast.”

“ _Emergency broadcast active. I heard what Kara said to you, I’m already rerouting the Queen Industries satellites to scan National City._ ” Felicity answered.

“This is a priority call to all Justice League members and reserve members,” Oliver began. “I need as many eyes, ears, and minds as we can spare in National City. A woman is missing.”

“ _You want the whole Justice League on a missing persons case?_ ” It was James Olsen who answered first.

“Absolutely.” Oliver answered sternly. “We believe she was taken by Merlyn.”

“ _Who is this woman, Green Arrow?_ ” Curtis questioned.

“She’s one of us.” Oliver sucked in a breath. “It’s Lena Luthor.”

“ _Lena?_ ” Mon-El asked in surprise.

“Valor, Miss Luthor was last seen at a Luthor Corp. holding facility at the docks. Head there and find out if anyone has seen her or Merlyn.”

“ _I’m on my way_.” Mon-El answered.

“Flash?” Oliver turned his attention to Barry.

“ _I’m_ …” Barry began, and a fraction of a second later he was stood in front of Oliver. “Here.”

The two shared a knowing look of dread before Oliver continued. 

“Search every inch of the city. Supergirl is scanning the city from above, so start with everywhere she can’t see; underground facilities, basements – anywhere lined with lead.”

“On it.” Barry shot off immediately, disappearing in a haze of lightning.

Oliver began to head from the building, taking the side door he had entered through back into the alley where he had left his bike.

“Everyone else report in as soon as you reach National City. Share anything you–”

Oliver stopped as Barry appeared in front of him again.

“You have to see something.” Before Oliver could answer, Barry had grabbed him and sped off again. “Sorry,” Barry began awkwardly. “I know carrying you is a bit…awkward but it really is the quickest way.”

“Just go fast enough that no one can see us.” Oliver grumbled.

Barry brought them to a stop outside an open door, at a slightly run down looking building. The windows were blacked out, the brick work crumbling.

“I thought this might be related.” Barry spoke as they walked through the door.

“A STAR Labs outpost?” Oliver asked.

The room as covered in a layer of dust, not a sign that anyone had set foot inside it in years.

“Shut down after the explosion, must have slipped from the records before I took over.” Barry answered, as they walked. “But he…he definitely shouldn’t be here.”

Oliver continued towards the body that lay on the floor, slumped against one of the counters. Crouching down, Oliver reached out to pull the mask from the body.

“Jonathan Crane,” He announced to Barry. “One of Kane’s.” 

“Any chance it’s just a coincidence that he’s in National City the same day Lena goes missing?” Barry asked sardonically.

“It would make our lives easier if it was, huh?” Oliver smirked grimly, getting to his feet.

“ _I’m at the docks,_ ” Mon-El’s voice came over the comms. “ _We got lucky. As soon as I showed up someone ran_.”

“And?”

“ _Tell him!_ ” Mon-El ordered, Oliver assumed he must have had whoever attempted to run pinned down. “ _Tell them what you told me_.”

“ _That archer guy isn’t in the city_ ,” A voice answered weakly. “ _He hijacked a military sub, took off with some lady_.”

“ _I see it_.” Supergirl growled down the comms. Her feed cut off a second later, after the groaning of twisting metal filled Oliver's ears.

“We have to get to the docks.” Oliver turned to Barry. “Now!”

Barry didn’t hesitate, grabbing Oliver once again and shooting off in the direction of the docks. Oliver's mind ran through every possible scenario as Barry hurried them towards the docks. There were parts of a puzzle, the break in at the Starchives, Scarecrow being in National City, Lena going missing. It all had to be connected. Oliver didn’t believe in coincidences, he refused to. There had to be a reason for it all happening. And Merlyn being involved? That Oliver couldn’t understand. The Dark Archer had always been obsessed with him, he had never taken to dragging others into the duel between them that never seemed to end.

Oliver was pulled from those thoughts as they reached the docks. Barry released Oliver for only a second before Oliver spotted the submarine, jammed onto an outcrop of land on the horizon. Oliver didn’t need to point it out, Barry saw it too. Mon-El was stood not far from them, now joined by J’onn J’onzz who must have radioed in while Oliver was distracted with his concerns. With a nod of agreement, the four of them headed off towards the submarine, Oliver still held by Barry.

The four arrived to see Merlyn clambering from the submarine, dropping to the sand of the outcrop through a hole torn in the hull. J’onn was the first to react, levelling Merlyn with a blow that dropped him to the floor. As Mon-El touched down, Barry released his grip on Oliver. The archer immediately moved towards the open hull of the submarine, hearing Merlyn’s voice as he did.

“Did Flash carry you here, Oliver?” The Dark Archer chuckled. “Striking fear into the hearts of criminals, while his bright red friend carries him through the night. If only channel 52 could get footage of that.”

Ignoring the taunts of his rival, Oliver stopped at the hole in the hull, looking into the ship through a green haze that filled the air. Cautious of what the gas in the air was, Oliver surveyed the interior of the ship. Surgical equipment lay scattered around, an operating table in the centre of the room, leather straps hanging from it. Before Oliver could make a move, Barry was at his side but showed no sings of stopping. Oliver's hand shot out and grabbed Barry’s shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. When the speedster turned to him in confusion, Oliver spoke,

“Scarecrow’s fear toxin.” Oliver pointed out, recognising it in the atmosphere.

Wheeling around, Oliver stalked towards the Dark Archer.

“Where is she, Merlyn?!” Oliver demanded, hauling his rival to his feet by his collar.

“Oh, come on, Oliver,” Merlyn taunted. “You’re smart, you can see the truth. You just don’t want to look at it too hard.”

“What did you do to her?” He growled, his grip tightening.

“I operated on her, she’s the trigger.” Merlyn answered coolly.

“Flash, the missile on the submarine, check to see if the warhead is still there.”

“Don’t bother, it isn’t.” Merlyn smirked. “When her heart stops, every heart in National City stops too.”

“Why would her…” Oliver trailed off, the pieces of the puzzle coming together. The kryptonite. The fear toxin. Lena. It all made sense. Merlyn aerosolised the Kryptonite, mixed it with the toxin so that it could enter Supergirl’s blood stream through her lungs. “Supergirl!” Oliver shouted, switching on his comms. “Supergirl, can you hear me?”

Oliver turned his attention to the sky, just able to see the retreating blur of Supergirl climbing higher and higher towards the stratosphere.

“Supergirl, _stop_!” Oliver called out. “Whatever you’re seeing it isn’t real!”

No answer came from Kara, the four Leaguers standing in place, staring up at the sky in fear. They had all pieced it together, they all knew what Merlyn had been planning, what had had done.

“Did you know that she was pregnant?”

Oliver's resolve snapped, hands dropping from Merlyn’s collar and his bow quickly swiping to strike Merlyn in his face. The blow sent the Dark Archer stumbling, blood slipping from his lips.

“It’s Lena, Kara!” Oliver cried out down his comms. “It’s Lena!”

 _Then, two heartbeats coming from one person…stop beating_.

The explosion was biblical.


	2. 137 Minutes After the Destruction of National City

“You took her wife, her unborn child, and her city away from her.” Oliver growled. “Why?!”

Somehow, he had managed to get Merlyn to SCPD. After the explosion, Supergirl was nowhere to be seen, and the members of the League who could safely withstand the radiation had flooded into National City and the surrounding areas to evacuate any survivors they could find. With the aid of a few of the non-powered Leaguers, Oliver had gotten Merlyn away from National City and locked up in SCPD interrogation. Most of the officers were too busy with the shock of the detonation and trying to mobilise to deal with the fallout to even register that The Green Arrow had just walked in with the man responsible for the destruction of National City.

“Do I need a reason?” Merlyn replied glibly.

“This has always been about us. Why did you do this to _her_?” Oliver demanded, gripping Merlyn by the collar.

Merlyn smirked, unfazed by Oliver's aggression. “This little duel of ours has been going on for years, Oliver. We’ve fought to a stalemate so many times, I was curious to see if your friends would provide a similar challenge. And I must say, I was disappointed with just how easy it was.”

Oliver's anger only doubled, he wrenched Merlyn from the chair he had been in, lifting him up so they were face to face. Before he could make another move, Merlyn continued.

“We’ve both been there, haven’t we, Oliver?” He smiled grimly. “Someone took it all away from us too, turned us into the monsters we are today. What do you think will become of Supergirl? She’s a god who had deluded herself into believing she’s human. What will she turn into?”

“No,” Oliver ground out. “She will grieve, but she will stay one of the best people I have ever known.”

“Oh, Oliver,” Merlyn chuckled. “I don’t think you really believe that.”

As Oliver opened his mouth to retort, the whole building shook and the wall behind him was blown open. The force sent Oliver crashing to the floor, and Merlyn staggered back a few paces. Getting back to his feet, Oliver turned around to see Supergirl, levitating just outside the hole she had made in the wall. Her eyes glowing bright red as she slowly moved towards them.

“Get away from him.” Kara snarled.

“Supergirl, you shouldn’t be here.” Oliver began, trying to sound both stern and sympathetic.

Kara seemed to ignore his words, dropping to the ground and walking towards Merlyn. Oliver stood his ground, nervously clenching his bow, fearful for the first time in his life of Supergirl. Kara stalked towards Merlyn, grabbing him by the throat as soon as she was close enough and lifting him up. Merlyn tried to speak, but his words came out as raspy gargles over the pressure around his throat. It couldn’t have been another second before Kara plunged her hand into his chest.

Oliver couldn’t find it in him to move.


	3. 3 Weeks After the Destruction of National City

“The “one card we can play” failed?” President Baker griped. “Find us another card, General Lane – one we can play against an even _angrier_ Supergirl.”

Baker grumbled as he pushed through the door into the oval office, leaving Lane and his advisors in the corridor outside. As soon as the door clicked shut, he stepped from the shadows.

“That was incredibly stupid.” Oliver spoke lowly, stepping behind the president and covering his mouth with his free hand. “You don’t touch a person’s parents.” Threateningly pressing the sharp tip of an arrow into the president’s lower back, Oliver began to lower his other hand. “Don’t call out.”

Oliver's grip no longer keeping him in place, the president took a step forward, beginning to walk towards his desk.

“They told me it couldn’t be traced back to me.” Baker practically whispered as he moved to sit at his desk.

“It couldn’t.” Oliver replied, placing the arrow back in his quiver. “I was playing a hunch, it’s not a hunch anymore though.”

“Will you tell them of my involvement?” Baker asked, folding his hands on the desk.

“No, but if they _do_ work it out…” Oliver left the rest of that sentence to hang in the air.

“What? They wouldn’t dare touch me, the public perception –”

“Are you really that naïve?” Oliver growled, leaning over the desk menacingly. “Think about who you’re dealing with! No one would know they’d touched you. There’d be no evidence, you’d just go missing. The police wouldn’t think to look for your body on Saturn.” 

That seemed to trigger something in Baker’s mind, the president finally showing an expression of fear Oliver deemed acceptable for the terror the man had unleashed.

“Your plan failed, Mister President. And it failed in a way that will not only strengthen Supergirl’s resolve – it will unite all of them behind her.”

As Oliver spoke, the president stood from his chair, turning to look out of the window out onto the lawns.

“Them?” Baker questioned.

“What?”

“Uniting “ _them_ ” behind her, not _us.”_ Baker pointed out. “You know, don’t you? You know what one person with that much power could do to the world.”

“She’s trying to bring about peace.” Oliver grimaced.

“Then how will she keep the peace?” Baker asked, not turning his attention from the window. “Power corrupts. Trust me…I know.”


	4. 3 Weeks After the Destruction of National City Pt. 2

Oliver didn’t turn from the computer bank when he heard the doors of the elevator bank slide open. He knew she was coming; the Queen Industries satellites had clocked her heading to Star City almost five minutes prior. He had sent the team away, not wanting them to be around when she arrived. He knew what she wanted, why she was coming to him. He didn’t want them to have to witness it. He’d put his suit on, just in case, hood and mask, the whole thing.

“Where were you?” Kara asked, her footfalls heavy as she walked towards him. “My parents were taken. Where _were_ you?”

“I was doing what needed to be done.” Oliver answered vaguely as he got to his feet, turning to look at Kara.

“My **_parents_**!” Kara all but shouted. “You of all people…” She trailed off.

“You have to stop what you’re doing.” Oliver deadpanned.

Kara recoiled in surprise. “I have to stop _what_? Stop saving lives? Stop bringing dictators to justice?”

“You’re scaring them.”

“ ** _GOOD!_** ” Kara bellowed, using her superspeed to rid Oliver of his hood and mask. “They should be scared. They should be too scared to push the button. They should be too scared to pull the trigger. They should be too scared to _hurt_ each other.” Kara gritted her teeth. “ _You_ taught me that!”

“Kara, I…”

“You’d do exactly what I’m doing if you were me,” Kara cut over him. “If you could do what I can.”

“You killed a man, Kara.”

“I did!” Kara shouted. “How many times have you taken a life?” When Oliver didn’t answer she pressed on. “That madman has killed millions now, and you never stopped him. It was one death to save millions.”

“It always starts with one.” Oliver shot back. “That’s how justification works, but once you justify something once you can do it again and again. It becomes easier. Right and wrong blur. That’s how you get to where I am. But there is a difference between kill or be killed, and executing your enemies in cold blood. And you Kara…you’re better than that.”

Kara seemed to calm a little at that, holding Oliver's gaze.

“You loved him, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“Merlyn. In some twisted way you loved having someone who was your equal. You’re not sitting down here mourning National City, you’re mourning him.”

“You think I didn’t lose people too!?” Oliver shouted at her. “Mia was in National City when that bomb went off, Rene, Sin, they were all there **_for you!_** ” Kara recoiled a little, surprised at Oliver's outburst “But you’re right, I’m not just mourning them.” Oliver sighed, leaning back against the desk, resigned. “I’m mourning the death of a woman I once loved.” At Kara’s look of surprise, Oliver pressed on. “Whether you see it or not, when Lena died…”

“ _Don’t_.” Kara tried to cut him off.

“When she died you didn’t just lose her, or the baby, you lost yourself.” Oliver paused for a moment before continuing. “The woman standing in front of me now, she isn’t the Kara I used to love.”


	5. Two Months After the Destruction of National City

“I’m telling you, it’s definitely broadcasting out of National City.” Curtis assured them. “it’s just the same two words over and over again. I’d say it’s a recording.”

Two months after National City had been decimated by a nuclear blast, an explosion so powerful that all life in the city had been wiped out faster than most people could blink. Two months to the day since a calculated act of madness and hatred took so many lives. No one had set foot in the city since that day. No sound had been heard in the once bustling streets. Until now. Two words – two impossible words coming out of the ruined city.

_I’m alive._

“I’ll go and take a look.” Kara affirmed.

“A look? You can see radio waves?” Curtis asked, a little surprised. “Of course you can.”

Kara turned and started towards the teleporter pad before anyone could get in another word. She hardly made it two steps before—

“You shouldn’t go.” Mon-El insisted, following after her.

“Valor is right,” Killer Frost spoke up. “We’ve been upsetting a lot of powerful people. Now we get a message of impossible hope coming from your destroyed home?”

“It’s the perfect lure.” Mon-El finished.

Kara stopped in her tracks and turned to face her allies with poorly hidden irritation on her face.

“And National City is uninhabited for miles in every direction,” Curtis added, pulling up the satellite feed of the city. “There’s no better place to attack you. They could hit you with whatever they want without having to worry about collateral.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Kara replied. “If a citizen of National City _has_ survived, I’m not going to abandon them.”

“Then you shouldn’t go alone,” Curtis relented. “I’d offer to go with you but I’m a little too fleshy for all the radiation down there.”

Killer Frost started towards the teleport pad to join Kara. “Valor is pretty much invulnerable and my meta-healing will be able to handle the radiation.”

“If this is a trap—” Kara tried but Frost cut over her.

“Then you’ll need the backup. I’m not staying here so someone can put a Kryptonite bullet in your head.”

The three grouped together on the teleporter pad.

“I’ll monitor the situation from up here. I’ll let you know if anything is coming. Good luck.”

With that, Curtis energised the teleporter and the three disappeared from The Watchtower.


	6. 9 Months After the Destruction of National City

“You and Lex are creating some kind of super soldier drug?” Barry admonished as he approached Kara. “Seriously? This is what we do now?”

“Lex was already close before National City.” Kara answered, turning to face Barry. “What we lost…it gave him the motivation he needed to finish it. I just provided a little extra Kryptonian technology. I know it might seem a little extreme—”

“Extreme!?” Barry cut over her. “It’s mad scientist territory.”

“Barry, do you play chess?” Kara asked.

“I…wasn’t expecting that.” Barry admitted.

Kara began to walk, and Barry followed.

“Do you?” She asked again.

“ _Um,_ I played a couple of times when I was a kid. But, no, I guess I never slowed down long enough to learn.”

“How quickly could you learn?”

Barry didn’t answer, instead he sped towards the computer bank of the Watchtower.

“Watchtower. Access Justice League library. Subject: Chess. Display at Flash speed.”

It didn’t take more than thirty seconds for the Watchtower’s computer to run through everything it had on chess. The images and words a blur to anyone but Barry. Once it finished, he blinked a few times, processing the information, before speeding back to Kara. The Kryptonian had taken a seat in the rec room of the Watchtower, a chess board laid out in front of her.

“I’m done.” Barry spoke, taking a seat opposite Kara.

“How fast can you think?” Kara asked as the two looked over the board.

“There’s no way of knowing that.” Barry pointed out.

“No.” Kara hummed.

Barry paused for a moment, looking out of the window into space for a second. “Very, very fast.”

“I wanted to discuss some ideas with you.” Kara began as the two started their super-speed game of chess.

“What ideas?” Barry asked.

“I want to get rid of guns.”

Barry stumbled over a few moves.

“Checkmate.” Kara grinned.

“We could do it, you and I, couldn’t we?” Kara asked as she reset the board and the two began another game. “In what, a day or two?”

“We could never get rid of all guns.” Barry commented.

“No. But most, we could do it.”

“Yes.”

Kara made a final move. “Checkmate.”

“But just because we _can_ do it, doesn’t mean we _should_.” Barry reset the board and paused, not beginning the game as he looked at Kara. “Unless they give up their guns willingly, they will resent us.” 

“Yes, but they will be alive to resent us.” Kara began the game again.

“I know.” Barry grimaced. “They will rise against us.”

“Maybe. But let them come at us with sticks.”

“You start with guns? Then what?” Barry asked.

“You’re a forensic scientist. How many lives have you witness ruined by guns?”

Barry didn’t answer immediately, making a few more moves.

“Smoking.”

“What?”

“Cigarettes,” Barry started. “They kill far more people than guns. People keep smoking even when they know that it’s killing them. They keep smoking and looking into the eyes of their families and die.”

“And?”

“And tomorrow we get rid of cigarettes.”

Kara stumbled, and it was Barry’s turn to grin.

“Checkmate.”

Kara reset the board and they continued.

“You want to save lives? That’s how we do it.” Barry pressed. “Then we imprison anyone who speeds in a car. _Checkmate_. Then we lock up anyone who leaves a dangerous dog unchained. _Checkmate_. Then we kill anyone who doesn’t recycle. _Checkmate_.”

Kara didn’t seem to recover.

“C _heckmate…Checkmate…Checkmate._ ”

Finally, she threw down her king.


	7. 12 Months After the Destruction of National City

“Ever since the incident in Mogadishu, Martian Manhunter has been posing as Hawkgirl.” Valor informed the room. “He’s been spying on us, undermining us, and reporting to the insurgents.”

The members of the League had gathered on The Watchtower for the meeting, with the addition of Lex Luthor. The news shook them all.

“But if Hawkgirl was really Martian Manhunter then where’s the real Kendra?” Terrific asked.

Across the room, staring out of the viewing screen at the planet below, Supergirl answered. “ _He_ has her.”

“So, Arrow attacked Kendra,” Flash began, speeding to Supergirl’s side. “Took her away, locked her up somewhere, and had J’onn impersonating her, just so he could spy on us? I mean, that’s crazy. Even for him that that sounds—”

Flash trailed off, not wanting to let his thoughts take him down that path.

“It’s sounds exactly like what he’d do,” Arsenal spoke up from across the room. “You don’t know Oliver like I do…and I barely know him at all! No one does. He will go to any lengths. He’s got files on all of you. It’s not just your strengths and weaknesses. Those files include your past. Your friends. Your families. If he feels he needs to, he _will_ use them against you. He _will_ strike pre-emptively.”

Lex began to walk across to Kara. “We need to bring everyone in. Frost, Dreamer, Saturn Girl. No one should be operating alone. We need a plan in place to protect others close to us.”

“That’s what he’ll be counting on,” Supergirl seethed. “He wants us to react to him. To pull back. To go on the defensive. He’s always the one in charge of any situation, the one with all the knowledge and the smug superiority. Green Arrow, always prepared for anything.” Oliver had always been the one with the plan, the tactical superiority, the assurance that everything he did was right no matter what. “Not this time.”

Supergirl walked across to the computer bank where Terrific was sat. “Terrific, active the emergency broadcast system. All devices.”

“Where?” He asked.

“Everywhere.”

All across planet Earth, technology leapt into action. Screens cut to images of Supergirl, speaker grills fizzled with static before settling down again.

In Star City, Overwatch saw her technology turn against her.

“ _People of Earth, we have been betrayed,_ ” Supergirl addressed the planet. “ _The hero known as Green Arrow has taken one of our people. One of **your** heroes._ _Hawkgirl has been abducted. An imposter was put in her place. Green Arrow’s spy has been among us for weeks. Somewhere, Hawkgirl is being held, no doubt hoping for rescue, and we, her friends, didn’t even know she was missing. Green Arrow lied and kidnapped to get what he wanted. No more. He has taken one of our friends and allies, and I am taking something of his. I am taking his anonymity._ ”

“Damn it, Kara.” Green Arrow let out a low growl of frustration. “Overwatch, activate Protocol Icarus.”

“ _Green Arrow’s true identity is—"_

In orbit around planet Earth, The Watchtower shut down.

“What happened?” Supergirl called out as the Leaguers drifted up from the floor.

“It’s the Watchtower,” Terrific shouted back. “He’s taken out the whole damn Watchtower.”

“Is the teleporter working?” Lex asked.

Terrific scrabbled to grab a hold of the computer desk. “Everything is offline, even life support.”

The panic building in the room was palpable.

“We need go get the Watchtower down to Earth before we run out of oxygen.” Lex fought for control. “We can’t get outside without breaching the hull. Supergirl, Valor, I need you to—”

“No.” Supergirl cut over Lex.

Lex paled. “What do you mean no?”

Supergirl floated hurriedly across the room, and with one arm guided Terrific back into his chair at the computer bank. “He wants our hands full. He wants his identity. He’s buying time to put some contingency in place. I’m not giving him that time. Let me finish addressing Earth.”

“The Watchtower doesn’t have power,” Terrific pointed out. “Communications are down.”

Arsenal drifted close to the computer bank. “ _You’re_ in a co-dependant relationship with your T-Spheres,” He pointed at Curtis before rounding on Lex. “ _You’re_ supposed to be the smartest man alive. You’re telling me we can’t put five little words online?”

It took less than a minute.

_Oliver Queen is Green Arrow._


	8. 12 Months After the Destruction of National City Pt. 2

“I thought we were stopping Hawkgirl kidnapping a democratically elected official!” Black Lightning shouted at Oliver across the table. “Had I known we were taking Hawkgirl prisoner, I would never had agreed to it!”

The members of the Insurgency were gathered in one of Oliver's many safehouses after the revelation of both the Green Arrow’s true identity and that he had lied to them about Hawkgirl. Even Alex, who had thought that both Oliver and J’onn trusted her implicitly had been kept in the dark. From the look on John Diggle’s face, Alex assumed that he had been lied to as well. No one had known but Oliver.

Alex sighed from her seat. “Black Lightning makes a good point.”

“I’ve released Kendra. I would never have held her indefinitely.” Oliver scowled at her. “I needed someone on the inside who might talk some sense.”

“Which you should have told us you were doing.” Batwoman insisted.

“You should have told us about the Martian.” Atom added.

Oliver drew in a breath and focused his attention on Alex. “J’onn is dead.” The air seemed to get sucked out of the room. “Supergirl burned him alive.”

One of their own. J’onn had been a guiding figure to dozens of heroes over his years on Earth. He had been there the moment Kara had become Supergirl, worked alongside her with Alex for years as friends, as family. In spite of all that, Kara had killed him. All she had done Alex could excuse, killing Merlyn, trying to bring peace by force, it was still noble in a way. But J’onn. Supergirl had crossed the line she could never return from.

“Last night I received an encrypted message. I think J’onn did get through to someone in Supergirl’s camp.” Oliver continued once the group had time to process what he had told them.

Maggie was the first to regain enough focus to answer him. “What was in the message?”

“Supergirl and Lex Luthor have almost finished creating their super-human technology, and it’s devastating,” Oliver began. “The message claimed this tech is being manufactured at the Fortress of Solitude.”

Batwoman straightened in her chair. “And…what? This mystery person is implying we should break into Supergirl’s impenetrable fortress—and let me repeat those words _Supergirl’s impenetrable fortress_ —and steal this tech?”

Oliver's features drew into a grimace. “We need to accept that Supergirl has changed. If she continues down this path, this may be our only way to restore the balance. Getting our hands on this technology once it’s complete may be Earth’s only hope in the future.”

Oliver's words weighed heavily on them all and the group fell into silence. For almost a minute, Oliver allowed them all to consider what he had told them. J’onn’s death. The super-pills. A traitor in Supergirl’s camp. The ever growing influence of Supergirl and the League.

“You can all head home,” Oliver said after a few moments. “I’ll call you when I receive some actionable intel.” The members of the Insurgency got to their feet one by one and drifted out of the room. All except Oliver, Alex, and Maggie. Once the door clicked shut, Oliver spoke again. “Alex, I—"

“I’m fine.” She snapped.

“Then you’re either lying or an idiot,” Oliver forced a small smile. He paused for a moment to pull down his hood and remove his mask. Even if his identity was public knowledge, Oliver still liked to wear his suit in full. “When we raid The Fortress, I want you to stay here.”

Alex’s focus shot to him with fury. “You what? I know Kara better than anyone, I—”

“Exactly,” Oliver cut over her. “If Supergirl catches us there, after what she did to J’onn, I don’t know what she’ll do. But I made my peace with this lifestyle a long time ago, Alex. If it comes to it, I’m ready to die.” Alex opened her mouth to speak but Oliver kept on. “You need to be the one to step up and lead them. Because if it’s going to mean something when we take down Supergirl, it has to be you.” ****


	9. 14 Months After the Destruction of National City

Oliver knew it was stupid, returning to The Bunker. It was the only place left in the world he could access where the technology to analyse the pills that remained unguarded, but _she_ knew it was where he would go. How long he had, Oliver wasn’t sure. The Bunker didn’t have any defences capable of holding back a Kryptonian, certainly not one as furious as Kara undoubtedly would be. The computer ticked along silently, the devices Felicity and Curtis had designed years ago working slowly to analyse the formula of the nanotech pill.

They had managed to raid Supergirl’s Fortress, they’d gotten the tech. But Oliver had miscalculated, he hadn’t known what Kara had done, hadn’t known that she’d relocated Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers there to keep them safe after the US Government had tried to kidnap them. it had cost them more than Oliver had been willing to give.

“ _She’s coming_.” A voice fizzled, the computer screens filling with static.

“Who is this?” Oliver demanded. “How did you…”

“ _Leave_ **_now_**!” The voice ordered.

“I can’t,” Oliver looked to the analyser. “It’s not ready.”

“ _She’s coming_.” The voice reminded.

“No. She isn’t.” Oliver grimaced, pulling up his hood. “She’s here.”

He didn’t turn at first. He knew she was there. The heavy sounds of her breath, the low growling of her anger.

“I took all the madmen from Star City,” Kara snarled. “But I left the original.”

Oliver finally turned. Kara was beaten. Her costume torn, her cape gone, dust and ash coated her face. Blood stained her hands, spots of it covered her left cheek. It took everything in him not to attack her on sight, what she had done…she had made it personal.

“And like all of them,” Kara continued. “Like all of your insane reflections, you’d see the world burn.”

“You’re delusional, Kara.” Oliver baited.

It worked. Kara gripped Oliver by the collar, lifting him from the ground with a growl of anger. Her eyes began to glow red as her grip tightened.

“Be careful how you speak to me.” Kara ground out.

The two remained like that for a few moments, Kara breathing heavily and glaring at Oliver.

“Why are you here?”

“I’m here to end this.”

“No, you’re not.” Oliver shot back. “If you wanted to kill me, I’d be dead. You didn’t have to face me. You could have used your heat vision and lobotomised me from space.” Taking in the blood on Kara’s hands Oliver felt his anger double. “Is that John’s blood you’re covered in?”

Kara had the decency to look ashamed for a moment. “He…”

“Was my friend, **_my brother!_** ” Oliver cut over her. “He was the most ethical and compassionate person we knew. Go on, justify his death. I’ll call Lyla and you can tell her why he had to die for the greater good. Better yet, you can explain it to his daughter.”

Kara refused to look back at him. Oliver could feel her hand at his collar begin to shake, her grip weakening. He glanced to the monitors, he had to buy more time.

“I know why you’re here, Kara. I’ve seen this before.” Oliver spoke, his voice softer. “You think I can _stop_ you. Somewhere deep down, you want me to.”

“ ** _Stop talking!_** ” Kara bellowed, throwing Oliver from her grasp.

Oliver's back hit the far wall and he fell to the floor with a thud. Forcing himself back to his feet, Oliver glared across at Kara in the dim light of The Bunker.

“That would be easier, wouldn’t it?” Oliver began, shoving down the pain. “If I stopped talking? If I put on a giant metal suit and hit you over and over again. Exposed you to some Kryptonite so you could feel pain. I’m sorry to disappoint you with this anti-climax but I’m not going to do it, Kara. I’m not going to fight you. Because I don’t think I can beat you without killing you now, and I won’t do that. I’m not _you_. I don’t kill my friends.”

Oliver lunged forward, hitting a button on the central console and the monitors sprang to life. Footage from Kara and Lena’s wedding filled the screens, the two of them at the altar. Kara turned to face the screens.

“ _I, Kara Danvers, do solemnly swear, to love and to cherish you, to honour and protect you, in sickness and in health. Until the end of time._ ”

“Stop it!” Kara wheeled around, but Oliver had gone.

That was why The Bunker was lined with lead, why he hadn’t turned the lights on when he arrived. Hiding from a Kryptonian wasn’t easy. If anyone could do it, he could.

“Honour and protect?” Oliver began, his voice projected through The Bunker’s P.A. system. “You failed to protect her.”

“I failed?!” Kara bellowed. “You failed, everyone!”

“And honour? Do you really believe you’re honouring Lena? Do you think she would want to see you like this?”

“I’m doing this for her!”

“No. You stopped doing things for Lena the moment she died. You lost your connection to us, to _humanity_ , when you lost them.”

“I’m done being lectured!” Kara shouted, spinning around to try and find him. “Time to stop hiding, Oliver!”

“You’re right.”

With that, Oliver tapped a button hidden in his bow. A series of sonic emitters around the bunker were set off, modelled after Laurel’s Canary Cry. Kara dropped to her knees, the emitters overloading her super-hearing. Safe, thanks to the earplugs Felicity had developed near 7 years ago, Oliver ran forward, heading for the scanner where the pill was placed. The screen read _100_ %, he could leave. Oliver didn’t spare a glance to Kara as he reached for the pill, his hand inches away before…

Kara caught his wrist.

She didn’t hesitate. Kara wrenched down his hood and mask with her free hand. “I can’t have you in a position where you can hurt me, or the world, anymore.”

Kara lifted Oliver over her head. He knew what she was going to do before she did. A few years ago, Oliver might even have respected her for it. Oliver didn’t fight, he didn’t see the point. He couldn’t beat her now, but the analysis was done, the formula uploaded to the secure server. _They_ had it now, they could beat her. All Oliver had left to do was lose. The Bunker was fitted with internal cameras, and it wasn’t just the formula for the super pills Oliver was transmitting to the insurgents. Kara drove him down, his back cracking against her knee. It was strange, Oliver realised, he didn’t feel any pain. He knew it should be hurting, he should be crying out in agony, but he couldn’t feel a thing. 

Oliver collapsed to the floor, just able to bring his hands around to protect his face from the impact. On instinct, he tried to push himself upright, but he couldn’t hold himself up. It was over for him, Oliver knew that. Kara had broken his back, even with the nanotech pills he couldn’t recover, not fully. So, he didn’t just have to lose, he had to checkmate them both.

“Give in, Oliver, stop trying to fight me.”

“Not trying to fight…” Oliver groaned. “I was just distracting you.”

It was then Kara finally realised, the computers, the scanner, the pill. The formula was uploaded, there was nothing she could do. Oliver saw it immediately, the anger doubling behind her eyes. Kara was on top of him in a second, her hand around his throat, lifting him up into the air, his feet dangling a foot from the floor.

“What have you done?” Kara demanded.

“It’s too late,” Oliver forced the words out. “The formula is with them now, your _sister_ , the others. The ones who can see what you’ve turned into.”

Kara’s grip on his throat tightened. “ ** _TELL ME!_** ”

“No matter what you tell yourself in the future, I want you to remember this moment. When you resorted to torture for the ‘greater good’.”

For a moment, the rage in Kara’s eyes seemed to recede. “I didn’t…”

“No,” Oliver hissed. “It’s always someone else’s fault, isn’t it? It makes it so much easier to justify your own atrocities. You’re no better than the monsters you claim you’re protecting _them_ from,” Oliver struggled to speak over her grip. “No better than Reign, or Thawne, or _Merlyn_.”

Kara gritted her teeth, practically snarling.

“No,” Oliver smiled grimly. “You’re worse than that, because you want everyone to believe that you’re their saviour, but I know that look, you want me dead. So go ahead, Kara. Do it. Show me what a real villain looks like.”

Her eyes started to glow red.

Oliver closed his own, ready to face the end with dignity.


	10. 39 Hours Since the Death of Oliver Queen

_Oliver Queen_

_Friend._

_Mentor._

_Hero._

The graveside was full of heroes from both sides. The ones who had stood with Oliver and the ones who had stood with Kara. The divide was literal, the groups stood either side of the still open grave. Supergirl herself hadn’t dared to show her face, but her allies and followers respected the unspoken ceasefire. Those who stood against Kara, they had planned to respect the ceasefire so long as _she_ didn’t turn up. The heroes slowly drifted away after the service, one by one, until it was just Barry and Felicity left.

“Felicity.” Barry began softly.

“You’re still standing with her after this?” Barry stayed silent, so Felicity pressed on. “He was your best friend, he was _always_ there for you. You saw that footage, we all did. How can you side with her after what she did to him?”

“She’s making the world better,” Barry began. “She didn’t mean to…”

“Then there’s nothing more to say.” Felicity turned her back and walked away.


	11. 23 Months After the Destruction of National City

“ _Sara. Congress is about to shut down the U.S. government.”_ Supergirl’s voice fizzled through her comms.

“And you want me to do what, exactly?” Sara asked.

She was already in Washington, Supergirl had tasked her with keeping an eye on the nation’s capital ever since the Insurgents had started making noise after Oliver's death. It had been a little difficult for Sara to reconcile at first, that Kara had killed her oldest friend, the person who had known her better than anyone else. But Oliver had been wrong, of that Sara was sure. What Supergirl was doing was righteous, she was saving the world. Oliver would never have accepted it. Sooner or later, Sara supposed, he was going to have to be removed from the board.

“ _I want you to convince them not to_.”

Sara slammed the brakes on her motorbike and skidded to a halt. “That level of interference—”

“ _You are the Head of the Demon, Sara. The League of Assassins was built to protect the world from conflict and guide it to righteousness, to safeguard planet Earth and it’s people. This is not interference. This is protection._ ”

“That’s hard to argue with.” Sara nodded to herself and kicked her bike back into gear.

It hadn’t been long after Oliver's death when the Insurgents had entered into an uneasy alliance with the League of Assassins. Ra’s had seen the goal of the League differently to Kara, he had believed that Supergirl’s new plans for the fate of the Earth undermined everything the League of Assassins stood for. It had forced Kara’s hand. Sara had hoped that Nyssa would have been able to temper her father, that with her and Nyssa’s connection the heiress would want to side with her beloved and Supergirl. Sara had been wrong.

Before anything could get out of hand Supergirl had taken Sara to Nanda Parbat and deposed Ra’s, leaving Sara as Head of the Demon in his place. Nyssa hadn’t accepted it, had commanded Sara relinquish her title, and demanded trial by combat for the title of Ra’s al Ghul.

Nyssa lost.

“You won’t join me in Washington?” Sara asked after a moment.

“ _They tried to kill me, Sara._ ” Kara answered immediately. “ _I…I recognise that I am angry. I don’t want to face them yet._ ”

“I understand.” Sara pulled her bike to a halt in front of the Capital Building and headed inside.

“ _You won’t be alone. Flash will meet you there_.” With that, Sara heard the click of the comms turning off.

Things were escalating quicker than she had hoped for. It didn’t take her long to reach the main chamber, the voice’s drifting through the closed doors.

“…my great regret to announce that, pursuant to clause twelve, section a, of rule one, I declare the house in recess until—”

Sara kicked the doors open. “No!”

“What?” The speaker wheeled around to glare at her. “ **How dare you—** ”

“Inside voice Mr Speaker.” Flash appeared in a haze of yellow lightning.

“No one leaves!” Sara announced to the room as Flash slammed the doors around the room shut.

The Speaker slammed his fists down on the desk. “We have been democratically elected by the citizens—”

“And have you forgotten you serve them?” Sara cut over him, then turned to address the room. “You sit here and squabble like children. You don’t realise how transparently corrupt you are to the rest of the world. You are supposed to represent the people but, today especially, it is clear many of you only represent your own interests. No one will be leaving this chamber until this ridiculous shutdown is averted.”

“You have no right!” The speaker shouted at her again.

“I have every right!” Sara matched his tone. “I am Ra’s al Ghul, I have been charged with the protection of this planet and it’s people by a much higher authority than yours. It is my _duty_. Do yours.”


	12. 29 Months After the Destruction of National City

_Oliver Queen was always an easy target for hate. He could seem cold, uncaring, and always assumed the worst. And he was **so** stubborn, he never listened to anyone. He had a knack for looking into your soul and knowing exactly what you were capable of – and then he would exploit it, all while planning a contingency… “just in case”. Basically, he was a nightmare. _

He had never believed in the afterlife, strange that it was all so real, the world really was so much bigger than anyone realised. Roy Harper looked on at the Insurgents, they were beginning to lose hope.

_He was also the guy you wanted on your side when it all went sideways. Not just because he had a plan for everything, but because if he was on your side…you knew you were on the side of right. He had an impeachable moral code, sure he would bend it sometimes, when it became necessary, but he wouldn’t betray it. Ever. The Green Arrow wasn’t just the hero Star City needed, he was the whole damn world’s safety net. Without Oliver, they don’t stand a chance._


	13. 34 Months After the Destruction of National City

“You know, this place isn’t anywhere near as secret as you think it is?” Constantine grinned as he pushed through the doors into the D.E.O. black site the Insurgents had taken to using as a temporary base.

“John?” Alex jumped to her feet, turning to face the warlock.

Almost three years since Kara had started her war on crime, her regime gaining strength day by day. Three years and Alex had lost allies, lost friends, day after day. So many of them had fallen to try and restore order to the planet. J’onn J’onzz had been burned alive trying to buy Oliver time to escape from Supergirl. John Diggle had given his life to get them the 5-U-93-R pills. Oliver Queen had been executed standing up to a woman who once professed to love him. Alex didn’t recognise her sister in the woman who now ruled the Earth.

There were few of them left, the ones who wanted to stand up to Kara. Most of them were the ones without special gifts, the ones who could see that absolute power corrupts. Herself, Felicity Smoak, Ray Palmer, and a handful of others who were either sceptical enough or stubborn enough to see past the deranged perspective Kara had adopted.

“Sorry I took so long to get here, love,” Constantine smiled grimly, walking towards Alex. “I didn’t want to get involved in this bloody war but after what she did to Oliver…”

Alex gave Constantine a sympathetic look, knowing that he and Oliver had been close.

“He had plans, you know?” Constantine spoke after a few moments of silence. “To take her out if it ever came to it, all the others too.”

Alex knew, of course she did. Oliver had told her before Kara had killed him. Told her exactly where to look on The Bunker’s computer network to find the files, told her the encryption and the passwords, told her what he had told no one else. After Kara had killed him though, she had trashed The Bunker, razed the whole structure to the ground in her anger. Then, those files were gone, for good.

“From the looks of it, you need my help,” Constantine continued. “Look, I’m not very good at protecting people. I have a very long list of dead friends who trusted me. I can’t bring back Oliver, or any other the others. Well, I can, but not in any form that you’d want to sit down for a drink with. I can’t bring back what _she_ stole from so many people. But I can sure as hell make sure that she pays. Revenge – **_that_** I’m good at. I’ve brought down monsters, demons, and actual gods. If you lot have got another scrap in you, I could use a few extra hands to help bring the Girl of Steel to her knees.”


	14. 37  Months After the Destruction of National City

_“Someone’s tracing us,” Felicity burst out, her hands flying over the keyboard. “The Regime knows we’re listening. They’re coming. They’re moving through my proxies like they aren’t even there.”_

_“It’s Curtis,” Alex ground out. “He’s perfected Kilg%re’s virus.”_

Orbiting the world, high above the conflict below, Curtis Holt sat at the Watchtower computer, fighting back a grin as he narrowed down the source of the breech in the Regime’s communications.

 _*Biological signature recognised. Lex Luthor reporting to Watchtower*_ The computer announced.

“Lex, I’ve traced the hack. It’s got Overwatch’s fingerprints all over it.” Curtis spoke, not turning from his station. “I’ll have her location in…”

A click interrupted him, followed by a voice. “No, you won’t.”

Curtis turned around. Stood in the teleporter bay, an unconscious Lex Luthor at his feet, was Quentin Lance. Lance was breathing heavily, his eyes narrowed as he aimed a gun at Curtis.

“Stop the trace and come quietly.” Lance ordered.

“We’re on a space station,” Curtis began. “There’s no way you’d fire a weapon in…”

The gunshot cut him off. The bullet slammed into one of the T-Sphere’s that had been orbiting Curtis, sending the device crashing to the ground with a smoking hole through its centre.

“Want to make any other assumptions?” Lance grinned.

Curtis looked at Lance hard for a few moments. The sheen of sweat on his forehead was intensifying by the second, his breathing getting laboured. Curtis remembered Oliver telling him about Lance’s heart condition years prior, if the look of the older man was anything to go by, he was on course for a massive cardiac incident any second.

“Stop the trace, or the next bullet goes in your head.” Lance pressed.

“I don’t think you’re going to kill me, not in cold blood. You’re SCPD, I don’t think you can.” Curtis ventured.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” Lance ordered, his hand tightening around his gun. “You were a good kid once, Curtis, you don’t have to go through with this.”

“Supergirl’s just doing what needs to be done,” Curtis countered. “The world is safer now than it’s ever been. It’s over, Detective. Felicity's done a good job, but her proxies are failing, I’ll have her location any second.”

“No!” Lance burst out, throwing his gun to the ground and running at Curtis.

Dropping the hero to the ground with a single blow to the face, Lance ran up to the computer. Clenching his fists, Lance grimaced.

“I’ve never been good with technology,” Lance began, smashing his fists down into the computer, crushing the machine. “But I know nothing runs if you turn it off.”

Lance continued attacking the computer, destroying the machine one blow at a time. In less than a minute, Lance had reduced it to broken fragments of silicon.

“What have you done!?” Curtis burst out, clambering to his feet.

Lance swung around, driving his fist into Curtis’s face again. He heard the distinctive sound of cracking bone as his knuckles collided with Holt’s nose, and the younger man collapsed to the floor with a thud. The twisting in his chest tripled as Holt collapsed, and Lance lost his strength to stand. His legs fell weak, and he dropped to the floor, his hands clutching at his chest. A moment later, he felt a presence next to him, and hands on his shoulders.

“You did it, Captain,” Lex spoke. “You did it.”

“Is he…” Lance asked weakly, nodding towards Curtis.

“He’s alive, but he’s out of action.” Lex confirmed. “You understand why I couldn’t act directly?”

“Of course. If we fail, we need you on the inside. Your secret is safe, Luthor.” Quentin answered as Lex helped him to his feet.

“You don’t look so good.” Lex pointed out.

“No.” Quentin grimaced.

“Did you know?” Lex asked. “That the pills would exacerbate your heart condition?”

“I knew, but what choice did I have?” Quentin answered, forcing himself to stand on his own and walking up to the windows of the Watchtower. “Could you take Holt back down to the surface for collection? I need a minute to myself.”

“Of course.” Lex answered, giving Lance a sympathetic look before turning and heading away.

“Overwatch?” Quentin spoke into his comms.

“ _Detective?_ ”

“I’m on the Watchtower, Holt is down. Tell Pike and the guys on the ground that I’m teleporting him down for collection.”

“ _And what about you, Detective?_ ”

“Could we speak on a closed channel?”

“ _Done, what’s wrong, Quentin?_ ”

“Have you ever seen this view, Felicity?” Quentin smiled sadly as he looked down on the planet below. “It all looks so beautiful from up here. You can’t see any of the fear, or violence, or hatred. Supergirl is a criminal, nothing more. She can’t be allowed to hold all of this in her hands.”

“ _We won’t let her, Mr Lance._ ” An unfamiliar voice spoke.

“Alex Danvers, I presume?” Quentin asked.

“ _It is.”_ Danvers answered. “ _I’m sorry we never got to meet in person, Oliver always spoke very highly of you._ ”

“Likewise. So, you really think you can stop her?”

“ _I do._ ”

“I hope you’re right. I’m just sorry I won’t be there to see it.” Quentin could feel his heart wrenching in his chest.

“ _Quentin, Pike is standing by with medics,_ ” Felicity spoke quickly. “ _Just get to the teleporter._ ”

“I’m done, Smoak.” Quentin forced down his pain as best he could. “I’ve given everything I’ve got. Just promise me something?”

“ _Anything_.”

“Save Sara, if you can,” Quentin ignored the tear he felt in the corner of his eye. “I need to believe she can come back from this. Please, save my baby girl.”

“ _I promise_.”

Quentin could feel the last of his strength dissipating. “Shame Oliver isn’t here, I’d have liked to have been the one to pull the disappearing act, just once.”

“ _Quentin? Quentin…?_ ”


	15. 37  Months After the Destruction of National City Pt. 2

“Thanks for coming,” Constantine addressed the room.

Alex had gathered several members of the Insurgency at Constantine’s Millhouse. Along with a small group of SCPD officers that had been galvanised against Supergirl after the Regime rolled out its super-pill powered army and the death of Quentin Lance, Constantine had drawn in a number of magical allies, and Alex had drafted in the members of the Insurgency who weren’t preoccupied with other tasks; Jefferson Pierce, Ray Palmer, Jefferson Jackson and Martin Stein, Rory Regan…and a few others Alex was unsure of. They had made some uneasy allies over the three years since the destruction of National City. Namely, Cupid, who had been under ARGUS custody until the Regime began executing prisoners and she staged an escape. Somehow, Cutter had learnt of the Insurgency and sought them out, demanding to help avenge The Green Arrow. Alex hadn’t been in any position to turn her away.

The magical wards surrounding the Millhouse made it wholly invisible to Supergirl and the members of the Regime. Supergirl. That was the only way Alex could refer to her now. She wasn’t Kara anymore. The sister she had loved for years died with National City.

“We’ve come here today for one reason and one reason only,” Constantine continued, pulling Alex from her thoughts. “We all recognise that Supergirl is an absolutely insane bitch who needs to be stopped. We’ve already hit her hard. Mon-El is in a coma, and we’ve got the Flash, Dreamer, and Mr Terrific locked up downstairs. We’ve incapacitated or captured a lot of her friends. She’s taken some of our friends away from us too.”

Constantine paused for a moment, letting his words sink in to the group. Taking the silence as her cue to speak, Alex stood from her chair and stepped up beside Constantine.

“But thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of some of those friends, the world has seen the truth.”

“Yeah,” Constantine took over for her. “They’ve seen through the pretty hair, perfect smile, and that damned cheerleader outfit to the bloody evil motherlover underneath. We’ve hit her hard, we need to keep hitting. Now, we know that short of kneecapping her with a Kryptonite bullet, her weakness is magic. But there’s a reason we haven’t used magic against her directly,” Constantine paused, taking a heavy drag from his cigarette. “There’s something out there. Something magical. Something powerful. Something angry. We’ve felt it. We don’t know what it is, but we believe it could be working for Supergirl.”


	16. 38 Months After the Destruction of National City

“Supergirl, you know Ragman. Rory to his friends.” Constantine grinned, crouching at Supergirl’s side. “I don’t think you get to call him Rory.”

His plan had worked flawlessly. He’d let the wards around Dreamer slip just long enough for her to astral project to Supergirl and tell her where she was being held. Supergirl’s predictable ego had driven her to rush to Dreamer without backup or preparation, she’d run right into their trap. As soon as she’d set foot inside the house they had Dreamer locked up in Constantine had thrown the magical wards back up and Rory had stepped from the shadows. The Rags had latched into Supergirl with more strength than Constantine had ever expected to see from them, it was magnificent.

“What you’re feeling around your face, and other parts, is Ragman’s suit. Trapped inside are hundreds of souls. Do you know why they’re drawn to you?” Constantine asked, getting to his feet and lighting a cigarette. “Because – no matter what you’ve talked yourself into believing – you truly are an evil bastard. No matter how the sycophants around you smile and nod, believe me when I tell you, you have absolutely bloody snapped. Your soul is going to join the others. You’ll be a rag in Ragman’s suit until you’ve atoned for all your evil. Now, you’ve murdered a lot of people, enough that I know some demons who’d be horrified. So, I’m guessing you’re going to be trapped in there longer than some stars burn.”

Constantine took a drag from his cigarette and turned to Rory. “How much longer is this going to take? That was kind of the end of my speech. I was hoping she’d scream and fade away then.”

Supergirl’s eyes glowed bright and her heat vision blew a hole through the rags.

“Jesus!” Constantine jumped back.

“She’s too strong.” Ragman hissed.

“No, she isn’t,” Constantine snapped. “She’s weak. She’s a murderer and a thug. She belongs in there.”

“ ** _Mxyzptlk!_** ” Supergirl called out.

“Is probably searching frantically for you but we have this place pretty well hidden. You only saw it because we wanted you to. No one knows where you are, Supergirl. And pretty soon, you’ll be gone.”

The rags wrapped themselves around Supergirl’s face again, the former hero struggling under them.

“Can I admit something? I was pretty sure this wasn’t going to work. I had heaps of contingencies in place, Ollie would’ve been proud, I didn’t think it would be this easy.”

“ _Im…_ ” Supergirl hissed from under the rags, one of her hands forcing itself towards her face.

“What?”

“ _Im…_ ”

“ _I’m_? _I’m_ what? Sorry to the world you almost completely screwed over?”

Supergirl’s hand stretched up further, her fingers reaching out for her ear.

“What are you doing?” Constantine asked, crouching down beside her.

Her fingers reached her ear and Constantine saw it too late, she was wearing her communicator.

“ ** _Imra!_** ”

“Bollocks!” Constantine leapt to his feet.

A second later, the tell-tale flash of the Watchtower teleporter shone in front of them and Saturn Girl walked out from it.

“Supergirl!” Saturn Girl called out, running to her side.

“Ragman take her!” Constantine shouted.

“I can’t, she’s an innocent.”

“None of _them_ are innocent.” Constantine snarled.

Saturn Girl was on Ragman in an instant. With her powers, she lifted him from the ground, glaring daggers at him.

“ _Let her go!_ ”

“You’re defending the wrong woman.” Ragman’s ethereal voice hissed. “You don’t understand how corrupted her soul is. She’s evil.”

“She’s _Supergirl!_ ”

“Not anymore!”

Saturn Girl stopped listening. Throwing her hand to the sky, she blew off the roof of the building. Constantine had never seen telekinesis as potent as hers, the power that destroyed the roof was awesome. The night sky bared down onto them, the wards of the building destroyed as the walls began to crumble. The force of the destruction threw Constantine across the room, his back colliding with the far wall. As Constantine forced himself back up to his feet he caught a glimpse of figures moving towards them from the sky.

“Oh shit.”

_XXX_

“You tried to take Supergirl’s soul?!” Alex bellowed as she stormed towards Constantine.

Constantine had gotten lucky. He shouldn’t have been alive. Supergirl should have gutted him when she was freed by Mxyzptlk. Rory had been torn in two by the 5th Dimensional bastard. Another one on the list of dead friends. Constantine only made it out because Supergirl had wanted him interrogated for the location of the Insurgents and not killed on the spot. He’d been saved by a miracle, by a Deadman; the soul of Roy Harper.

Bloody lucky.

“I tried to bloody save it!” Constantine shot back.

“You should have consulted me!” Alex’s anger doubled.

“Oh, shut it!” Constantine huffed, taking a drag of his cigarette. “She would have done her time and worked for good until she’d paid for her crimes. That’s what all this is about isn’t it?”

“Both of you stop it!” Felicity shouted over them. “Rory died. He was a good kid. Could the two of you stop arguing long enough to remember him?”

Casualties of war, Constantine supposed. The lines were getting blurrier by the day.


	17. For The Woman Who's Lost Everything - 40 Months After the Destruction of National City

“Supergirl!” Oliver shouted, switching on his comms. “Supergirl can you hear me?!”

Oliver turned his attention to the sky, just able to see the retreating blur of Supergirl climbing higher and higher towards the stratosphere.

“Supergirl, _stop_!” Oliver called out. “Whatever you’re seeing it isn’t real!”

Nothing.

“It’s Lena, Kara!” Oliver cried out down his comms. “It’s Lena!”

No answer came from Kara, the four Leaguers standing in place, staring up at the sky in fear. They had all pieced it together, they all knew what Merlyn had been planning, what had had done.

“Did you know that she was pregnant?”

Oliver's resolve snapped, hands dropping from Merlyn’s collar and his bow quickly swiping to strike Merlyn in his face. The blow sent the Dark Archer stumbling, blood slipping from his lips. Barry responded in kind, striking the archer in the back. the blow from the speedster was enough to send Merlyn collapsing to the floor.

A moment later, the whole atmosphere shifted. Oliver looked back to the sky to see Supergirl speeding towards them, a red bundle in her arms. Kara touched down a few feet from them, the red bundle smoking slightly from the heat of re-entry. Kneeling in the sand, Kara placed the bundle down, revealing Lena Luthor, wrapped in Kara’s cape.

“Please.” Kara begged, her voice a whisper.

None of them could look, the heroes dropping their gaze to the ground.

“ ** _Please!_** ”

Then, she stirred. With a weak cough Lena’s eyes drifted open. Kara froze, unable to believe what she was seeing.

“Lena?”

“Kara.” Her wife smiled thinly.

“I almost…the baby.” Kara sobbed, a tear running openly down her cheek.

“I’m okay Kara.” Lena smiled. “We’re okay.”

Kara pulled her wife into a hug. The two holding each other tightly. The heroes breathed a sigh of relief. It took a few moments, but Kara helped Lena to her feet, the two not releasing their grip on each other even for a second. Oliver felt himself tensing as Kara turned, seeing Kara’s eyes lock onto Merlyn, who had manged to get back to his feet. He knew what she was thinking, probably better than Kara did herself.

“ _You!_ ” Kara snarled, turning to Merlyn. “You almost took them from me.”

“Now, Supergirl.” Merlyn began, blood still dripping from his nose. “Let’s not do something violent and messy that we might regret.” 

“I will not regret this—”

“Supergirl no.” Oliver stepped between her and Merlyn, a hand on her shoulder.

“Move aside, Oliver.” She spoke lowly.

Oliver ignored her, instead turning to look at the other Leaguers who were surrounding them.

“Flash, Valor. Somewhere in National City, there’s a nuclear warhead. Manhunter, return the submarine to the bay and then join the search.” He ordered. “I’ll take Merlyn to Star City and I’ll try to learn the location of the warhead on the way.”

“ _I’ll_ question Merlyn.” Supergirl snarled.

“No.” Oliver stopped her. “Look after Lena. Let me deal with him.”

“Like you’ve dealt with him before?” Kara glared.

“Supergirl, I promise he will never hurt you again.”

_I never knew. I never knew what I was missing. How much I wanted this. A family. Someone like me. Someone I could truly hold without hurting. This is all I ever wanted._

“I’m here to see Oliver Queen.” Supergirl announced as she touched down at Slabside.

The guards didn’t argue as she was led to the visitation wing. Oliver was already sat behind the glass screen when she arrived. He grinned as he looked up at her, and Kara observed him as she took her seat opposite him. He looked rough, a black eye, his stubble heavy. Like he had just gone five rounds with Deathstroke.

“I have news.” Kara smiled.

“It’s a girl.” Oliver smirked.

“Obviously.” Kara rolled her eyes teasingly.

Kara looked down, avoiding Oliver's eyes for a moment.

“Why did you do it?” She asked eventually.

“Merlyn…he almost destroyed an entire city. All of those people. And he almost took everything from you. He was…”

“He was going to try again.” Kara finished for him.

“Yes.” Oliver answered sadly. “And if you’d been the one to…well I couldn’t let that happen to you.”

“You killed him, turned yourself in, to save me?” Kara asked.

She didn’t give Oliver a chance to reply before she got to her feet and stepped forward, tearing through the barrier between them. Oliver jumped to his feet and stepped back to avoid getting hit by the damage. Kara ignored the guards as they aimed their weapons and pulled Oliver into a hug.

“Thank you, Oliver.” She whispered into his ear. Pulling out of the hug she continued. “With good behaviour you could be out by the time she’s two.”

“I’m not exactly behaving well in here, Kara.” Oliver grinned wickedly. “I’m beating up a **_lot_** of people.”

Kara placed her hands on Oliver's shoulders. “Say the word and we walk out of here.”

“I killed a man in cold blood, Kara. I crossed a line.”

“Merlyn wasn’t a man.” Kara pointed out.

“I need to do the time. Go, live your lives.”

_There are moments all parents talk about. The first word. First steps. There are moments you’re ready for and some you can’t be ready for. First flight. First rescue. The first time she put on her suit._

“Mom?” Lori called out.

Kara was at her side in an instant. Mother and daughter levitated in orbit around Earth, looking down at the planet below them. She had been training for almost as long as she could remember. 20 years of being taught by the greatest heroes to walk the Earth. Caitlin Snow helped her perfect her freeze breath. J’onn J’onzz had taught her to fly. Barry Allen ran with her until she could control her speed. Oliver Queen conditioned her to aim her heat vision with the temperament of an archer.

“What is it?” Kara asked.

“It’s everything.” Lori answered. “I can see it. The world…”

“Is pulling apart.” Kara finished.

“What do we do?”

“We can do what we want. We have the power.” Kara answered. “We can stop them from hurting themselves. We can control the destiny of this world.”

“Or, you know, we could _not_ sound like B-Grade supervillains?” Lori smiled at her mother. “We can’t do this alone. We can’t fight all their battles for them. You taught me that. We can’t push back rising tides. I can’t fight against super-storms.”

“You tried, didn’t you?” Kara smiled affectionately.

“Yeah, I gave a super-storm such a punching.”

“What would you do?” Kara asked after a few moments.

“I think…could we talk to them?”

“I’m not one of them, Lori. No matter what I say, I will always be an outsider to them.”

“I’m one of them.” Lori answered, looking down at the planet below. “I can tell them what I see.”

They called an address at the United Nations. Between the League and their secret identities, they had the influence. Lori stood above them all, looking out at the world leaders that had congregated to hear her speak.

“I am a child of two worlds. I was born on this world, but my mother is a refugee from another. That world is gone. They are gone because their narrow-minded leaders fought against the truth. We cannot allow our world to go the same way. Intelligent people are telling us that our days are numbered. And I wanted to speak to you today to tell you I can _see_ it. When I look at the Earth I can see that we don’t have long.”

Lori looked out across the audience. Her parents sat in front of her, Kara clad as Supergirl and Lena in a power suit. Heroes were scattered across the audience, some in costume, others as their civilian selves.

“We are out of time. There is no more time for cruelty, for greed, for self-interest to rule us. There is no more time to waste listening to the loud voices of the ignorant. There is no more time to fight each other. There is a better fight. A fight for our survival. _I_ can’t do it alone, but I _can_ help. I believe all of us, together, can still save our world.”

Lori was met to thunderous applause.

“Well Oliver?” Kara asked once the speeches were through and the audience had moved to mingle and discuss ideas.

“A bit preachy.” The archer deadpanned.

“Supergirl. President Luthor.” Laurel smiled as she walked up to them. “I hope you don’t mind my saying, but that girl of yours just made you both look like mere mortals.”

“Thank you, Madam Attorney General.” Supergirl grinned.

“Your husband thought it was a little preachy.” Lena smiled as she shook Laurel’s hand.

“No, he didn’t.” Laurel threw Oliver a wicked look. “I was watching him. I saw his cynicism crack at least twice.”

“Shall we get to work then?” Lena asked them all, and the quartet smiled, none of them seeing Lori looking on in triumph.

_XXX_

“Why so glum? Bollocks to the Super Regime. She takes an eternal power nap and you get to put the world back to the way it was. Got what you wanted. We won.”

“There are no winners here.” Alex sighed, staring into the night sky. “This hurts everyone.”

Supergirl was in a magical coma. Dreaming of a better life Constantine had promised. The spell he had used would keep Supergirl asleep and dreaming of the perfect life, forever. Not even a 5th Dimensional being like Mxyzptlk could pull her out of it. The war was almost won. Alex couldn’t help but to wonder what exactly Supergirl was dreaming about, she supposed that seeing the dream might tell her if Kara was still in there somewhere. There was equal chance though, Alex feared, that Supergirl was dreaming about world domination as there was of her dreaming about a time before National City.

“I didn’t have you pegged as a pessimist, Danvers.” Constantine spoke through a breath of smoke. 

“And you think you’re an optimist?”

“Not at all, love. You and me…we’re a lot more alike than you want to admit…trust issues, conniving bastards…smartest ones in the room. It’s like looking into a mirror. Except for my family jewels, and my charm, and my wit, and my sense of humour…”

“And your chain smoking.” Alex jabbed as she turned and headed back towards the entrance to their hideout. “And if you believe Supergirl is down for good, we’re less alike than you think.”

_XXX_

“Where is she?”

Kara turned to see Lena walking out onto the balcony of the penthouse, wrapped in a blanket that Eliza had knitted for them nearly 40 years ago. Even with her greying hair, and the wrinkles around her eyes, Kara thought that Lena was still the most beautiful creature she had ever encountered.

“Greenland,” Kara answered as her wife came to her side, without hesitation she wrapped an arm around her Lena’s waist. “Her and a team of scientists from around the world are literally cooling glaciers.” 

Lori was doing so much for the world, had become a better Supergirl than Kara herself had ever been. Sure, she had protected the world from monsters and apocalypses time and again, but Lori was truly saving the planet.

“Are you going to join her?”

“No, Lori can handle it,” Kara looked up at the night sky. “It’s going too quickly.”

Lena looked across at her wife. “What is?”

“Everything,” Kara closed her eyes. “I wish we had more days together.”

Lena took Kara’s hand a squeezed. “Is it the voices again?”

“Yes, they’re at the edges. They’re calling.”

“It’s okay. Block them out.” Turning to face Kara, Lena reached up and cupped her face with both hands. “Stay with me, Danvers. We will have many more days.”

As Kara reached in to take her wife in a kiss, something around her changed. The world seemed lighter, as if it were drifting away in some haze of weightlessness. She didn’t make it to Lena’s lips before everything shifted, her eyes drifting shut momentarily to blink and when they opened again—

“Kara?”

Stood over her, looking with nervous eyes, was Mon-El.

“Mon-El?”

The Daxamite breathed a sigh of relief and dropped his head for a moment. “Thank the Gods you’re finally awake. We had no idea what kind of magic Alex used to do this to you.” Mon-El took Kara’s hand with his own. “Mxy managed to break the enchantment but it…it did something to him. He’s gone.”

Kara managed to push herself upright, her mind a cacophony of information. She knew where she was, who she was. She remembered Merlyn, and the bomb, losing Lena and National City. The other life, where Lena had lived, it was still rife in her memory, the images there but detail fuzzy, slipping away the more she thought on it.

“While I was asleep I had this dream,” She began, swinging around and planting her feet on the floor. “It felt like more than a dream. It was so vivid, so real. Lena was alive. But it was more than that. None of this ever happened. No Merlyn. No bomb. No war. We lived together. Raised a family…grew old together. Everything was the way it was supposed to be.” Kara hands dropped to the edge of the table as she felt a rage growing inside her, the heat burning in her eyes. “Now I wake up and she’s gone. Taken from me all over again. And it hurts so much worse because now I _know_ what I missed.”

“We all dream, Kara,” Mon-El spoke. “But this is our reality.”

Kara snarled. “I want Alex found. Now.”


	18. 47 Months After the Destruction of National City

He caught the shift in the mirror almost immediately. Even semi-retired Jefferson Pierce didn’t lose his edge.

“I asked you not to contact me.” He dropped the toothbrush in the sink and turned around.

Lingering just inside the opened window, masked by the long shadows cast by the blue light filtering in from outside, was Alex Danvers.

“Showing up in my bedroom is a pretty clear violation of that, Danvers.”

Alex took a few steps into the room. “I’m sorry. But you know I have to take extra precautions.”

“Take all the precautions you need,” Jefferson crossed his arms over his chest. “But don’t involve me. You can show yourself out the way you came in.”

Seemingly ignoring Jefferson’s annoyance, Alex continued. “I understand wanting to help rebuild National City, but why did you align yourself with the Regime?”

“You of all people understand that achieving your goals sometimes means making concessions.”

Alex’s face was unreadable, but Jefferson could sense the anger radiating from her. “So…are you with the Regime, or are you forgetting the pact we all made?”

“When we made that pact four years ago you were a woman with a noble cause.” Jefferson said pointedly.

“Are you implying I’m not?”

Jefferson scoffed. “Your tactics are almost as questionable as Supergirl’s. Just because you don’t kill doesn’t mean you haven’t hurt. That fever dream you and Constantine gave her is the reason she’s consolidating her power like this, the reason she’s started calling herself _High Counsellor_.”

“We’ve both compromised—” Alex began jut Jefferson cut her off.

“The difference is mine offers a sense of hope for a community that was practically _nuked_ out of existence. _Your_ community. Or have you forgotten that you used to live in National City?”

Alex let out a heavy breath. “And once you’ve accomplished that…will you still work with the Regime?”

“I can’t help you right now, Alex.” Jefferson sighed.

Alex turned back to the window. “Right now, or ever?”

She was halfway out of the window before Jefferson answered. “I’m not interested in wasting my time. You’re fighting a lost cause.”

She stopped, turned to face Jefferson. “It’s not lost yet.”


	19. 50 Months After the Destruction of National City

“It’s good to see you all.” Alex smiled at her allies as best she could. Four years into Supergirl’s regime and they had lost even more friends. Those gathered before her were the last ones. Maggie, Batwoman, The Atom, and Cupid. “Thank you for responding so quickly. I wish I could say more were coming, but Constantine…no one’s seen him for almost a year. And well…there is no one else. That said –”

“Got room for one more?” A voice cut over her.

Alex turned. Stood across the room, at the door that lead to Overwatch’s computer suite, was The Green Arrow. Alex had to blink a few times, almost certain that she was dreaming. It wasn’t The Arrow; the figure was too feminine and…

“Felicity?” Alex stammered.

“No. Green Arrow.” The blonde answered, walking across the room and dropping her hood.

“Felicity…I don’t understand.”

“Kate’s been training me,” Felicity nodded at Batwoman, who grinned wickedly in response. “Ever since we lost Oliver and Digg I’ve needed to do more.”

“Listen, Felicity, I appreciate the effort but –”

“But nothing,” Felicity interrupted her again. “Look, you know as well as I do that the Insurgency is on life support. Your team is _so_ depleted that you need all the help you can get.”

“You’ve been a great help as Overwatch.”

“But I can do more as The Green Arrow, trust me.” Felicity answered sternly.

“If _she_ sees you out there dressed as him, you know what could happen.” Alex spoke her fears aloud. “You saw the way she…what she did to Oliver. If she thinks even for a second that you’re him…” Alex let the implication hang in the air.

“Oliver gave his life for this Insurgency, to give us even the slightest chance of beating her.” Felicity responded sadly. “How could I do anything less?”


	20. 52 Months After the Destruction of National City

“ _If I meant you harm, I would’ve traced this transmission—”_

“You would’ve failed trying.” Alex interrupted.

“ _This isn’t a context of egos. We’ve both made mistakes, both lost people. But I have to think that you and I can sit down and sort this out. Together._ ” Supergirl continued unperturbed.

She had sent out an open request on every channel on the planet for a dialogue with Alex Danvers. Knowing that Curtis was distracted with an insurrection in the Middle East, the Insurgents had accepted. Both Felicity and Ray had scrambled to set up the most fearsome encryption they had ever created, and Alex had answered the call.

“So, you’re asking for a face-to-face?”

“ _Look past recent events, past all the pain and suffering we’ve inflicted upon each other. We have real history, Alex, we’re sisters, that has to mean something.”_ Alex didn’t answer, so Supergirl continued. “ _Name the time and place and meet with me. I promise that no harm will come to you_.”

Alex ended the video feed there and then. A few minutes later she transmitted a set of coordinates on an open broadcast, knowing that Supergirl would know what they meant. She had no intention of going, she knew it was a trap, Alex was smarter than that. Supergirl wasn’t her sister anymore, she couldn’t be trusted.

_XXX_

“I don’t want to get into a debate about this, Mon-El.” Kara firmly stated as the two levitated among the clouds.

“Neither do I,” Mon-El answered warmly. “This is about you shutting us out. I know you feel this immense responsibility to the world…but it’s never been your burden to carry alone.”

“I know that.”

“ _Do you?_ Because your attitude tells a different story.” Mon-El said pointedly.

He had pulled Kara from her duties after a particularly heated argument had set his nerves on edge. Kara had drifted further and further, her anger was slipping, getting directed at her friends as well as her enemies. Mon-El didn’t want to see her create Insurgents out of allies just because they still couldn’t find Alex Danvers.

“What are you getting at?”

“We’ve been going at this for near five years. Not _you_ … _we_.” Mon-El spoke. “And as strong and driven as you are, do you really think you could have gotten this far without Curtis…or Barry…or Sara? Would the Regime still be standing?”

“No.” Supergirl hung her head.

“Then don’t shut us out. We’re in this together.”

“You’re right,” Kara took Mon-El’s hands. “We are in this together. You most of all.”


	21. 55 Months After the Destruction of National City

“I just don’t understand what it is you’re going to do, Alex.” Maggie sighed across the table.

The two of them were in Paris, sitting outside a perfectly ordinary coffee shop. Five years ago, it might have been romantic, they might have been on holiday celebrating their anniversary. The world had changed far too much. Still, they were hiding in plain sight, just like Oliver had told them. Even with Supergirl outing Oliver's true identity, he had manged to funnel enough funds into various accounts to keep the Insurgency afloat.

Alex had thrown on a deep black wig that spilled down beyond her shoulders, and Maggie had dyed hers a rather striking blonde. At a glance, no one noticed that the two most wanted terrorists on planet Earth were sat drinking coffee.

“I’m not giving up.” Alex answered.

Maggie sighed. “You’ve spent five years, pulled every trick out of the bag, and where are we? No closer to stopping her or the Regime.”

“She crossed the line we can’t ever cross, Mags. Somewhere in there, she’s still my sister, and for the sake of the sister I love I have to stop her. What she did—”

“I know she’s done some awful things. The friends that she’s killed. I’m not disagreeing with you. Just tell me we aren’t spitting in the wind. Tell me we have a plan?”

It wasn’t the first time things had gotten tense between them. Five years of trying to find a way to take down her sister has consumed Alex more than she had ever thought that it would. The strain it put on her relationship with Maggie was just another consequence of that. Despite it all though, Alex knew Maggie was with her until the end. That no matter what the two would fight side by side until it was over, one way or another.

“Short-term, mobilise as many super-powered humans as possible to fight the Regime. Heroes…villains…anyone who wants what we want, to take it to the streets.” Alex answered.

Maggie put down her coffee. “How can you trust any of them. You know what they are.”

“I do,” Alex replied quickly. “Which is why I want you to run the operation. They’re afraid of me, but you understand them better than I do. I spent my whole career fighting aliens, and gods, and monsters. You’re a cop. You know how they think.”

“Okay,” Maggie nodded. “Say this does work. What then? You yank on Kara’s tail until we end up in another super battle royal with the _Justice League_. You really think that’s going to work this time? Against her?”

Alex grimaced. “Anyone can be beaten.”

“You’re not Oliver,” Maggie practically whispered. “He was the one with the plans, the one willing to take them all out if we hit the worse case scenario. But this is Supergirl. You want me to be in charge of the crooks, fine I’ll do it. All I’m saying is that you need to be honest with yourself about all this. You know I’m with you until the end, babe, ride or die,” Maggie reached across the table and took Alex’s hands. “But I don’t know if we can win this. I don’t think anyone on Earth can stop her.”


	22. 57 Months After the Destruction of National City

“…I think this design could work, but we have to use special alloys with a molecular density like nothing I’ve ever seen.” Barry concluded.

He had Lex had been working on the final designs for the new prison facility Supergirl wanted built for hours. It had been on the priority list for the Regime for months, but following the Insurgency’s switch to guerrilla tactics, and the rumours of a new organisation in the name Cadmus cropping up in Metropolis, Supergirl had ordered the completion of the prison within the next two months.

“Leave it to me.” Lex nodded, typing something into his tablet.

“Lex.” Supergirl’s voice filled the room, and the two men looked up to see her entering through the glass ceiling. “Why did you stop production of the green pills?”

“It wasn’t by choice, Kara,” Lex answered. “One of the key chemicals was contaminated and corrupted our entire operation. We’ve begun construction on a new plant but it’s going to take three weeks minimum.”

Kara levitated a foot above Lex and scowled down at him. “That isn’t good enough.”

“Your disapproval is noted,” Lex didn’t back down. “But that doesn’t change the timetable.”

Barry watched the two stare each other down for a moment before speaking up. “What do you need green pills for? Aren’t you recruiting super-villains now?”

Kara rounded on him in an instant. “You have a problem with that?”

“You bet I do.” Barry scowled. “Since we’re expressing our displeasure here, I figured you should know that I think it’s a terrible decision.”

He had been watching it since the beginning as Kara seemed to slip further and further. The lines becoming blurrier for them all day by day. When it had started he had told Iris that if he stayed at Kara’s side he could help her, stop her from slipping too far. He wasn’t sure he was living up to that.

Kara glared at Barry for a few moments and for a moment, Barry drew on the speed force in his system, almost convinced Kara was about to throw a punch. Then, she turned on her heel and marched towards the door.

“When will construction on the prison start?” She asked as she walked.

“No soon enough for your liking.” Barry crossed his arms over his chest.

“Just get it done.”


	23. 58 Months After the Destruction of National City

“I’m worried. You know that I don’t get worried…but after all that has happened I can’t help but to be concerned – not for Supergirl’s wellbeing…but for her humanity.”

Lex turned away from his window in the newly rebuilt L-Corp tower in National City. Thanks to Jefferson Pierce they had been able to find a way to purify the city of radiation using Black Lightning’s powers. After the rebuilding, Lex had decided to rename the company. Lena had been telling him to do it for years, that Luthor Corp always sounded too pretentious. He had finally decided to do it in her honour.

“The road that she’s travelled in the name of peace has been paved with blood, pain…and oppression,” Lex continued as he walked back towards his desk. “Part of me has always feared that she was capable of this. And if I’m being completely honest, that same part of me has considered whether or not this world was better off without such a god among us.” Lex sank down into his chair. “Yet, she is my friend, and I believed in her cause enough to help. I provided her with the means to create a _green pill army_. My hands are bloody in this, too…bloody enough that she still confides in and trusts me. She has _no idea_ that I undermine her cause while keeping our friendship intact.” Sighing heavily, Lex looked down at his hands for a moment. "You wouldn’t approve. You always hated duplicity, an irony not lost on you. It’s one of the many things I admired in you.”

Lex paused for a moment, reaching out and taking the framed picture that resided on his desk up in one hand. In the image, Lex was stood with his arms slung over the shoulders of both his sister and Supergirl, the three of them stood together and beaming at the camera. Alex had taken it nearly 9 years ago. Lena and Kara had barely been dating then, both too wrapped up in the thrill of saving the world together to have noticed their feelings for one another.

“When that bomb detonated, Lena…I did my best to support my friend who lost _everything_. But I lost too. As much as she did.” Lex placed the photo back down on the desk with shaky hands. He swallowed hard and hung his head. “That’s the hardest part to reconcile. I warned you about the risks of being with her. Because if you listened to me…you’d still be alive.”


	24. 59 Months After the Destruction of National City

“… _and don’t forget, Kara wants an update on the prison_.” Holt added.

Lex sighed. “Of course she does. Flash and I are finalising the plans, but Supergirl needs to account for how this monstrosity is going be paid for.”

“ _Again, just the messenger_.” Holt threw his hands up.

“Understood—” Before Lex could continue the screens of his computer bank turned bright red and a siren sounded out behind him. “I have to go, Lex out…”

Slamming a finger down onto the console to end the call, Lex turned on his heel and sprinted down the corridor. With whatever breach his systems had detected in the building, the elevators had shut down so Lex was forced to take the stairs two at a time until he reached the sublevel. With a final burst of speed, he pushed through the door into sector 414 and found himself face to face with a figure he had hoped never to see again.

Bizarro.

In her arms, was a lifeless corpse that looked strikingly like Axel Walker. It must have been why the Regime couldn’t find him, The Trickster had been with Bizarro.

“Fix!” Bizarro slurred, taking a few steps into the room. “Please fix!”

“You…” Lex’s hands nervously found the back of his head. “You want me to revive your friend? I don’t mean to upset you, but he’s already passed on.”

Bizarro laid the corpse down on a table and turned to Lex. “Pass on?”

“Your poor friend is dead,” Lex hung his head. “There’s nothing I can—”

“ ** _NO!_** ” Bizarro snapped. “You make me. You make him better.”

Despite his better self-control, Lex’s eyes went wide. “I…made you?”

“You science man. You am me father.”

Lex did his best to try and regain mental balance. Supergirl had been on the hunt for her “imposter” for weeks, her frustration with the lack of results growing with each passing day. Now, the duplicate was in his lab, insisting he was her creator.

“What do you remember?” Lex asked cautiously.

Bizarro seemed to think for a moment. “Only science room. And lab coat. And shiny head.”

The creature remembered more than Lex hoped it would. He had already lied to Kara once about the origins of her Bizarro clone and gotten away with it by the skin of his teeth. If she caught up with Bizarro, and it told her what it remembered, Lex wasn’t sure he would be able to lie his way out of it. He was thinking on his feet, but Lex Luthor was good at that.

“You remember this place and myself…so you think I made you?” He began. “I’m sorry…but I’m not your creator.”

Bizarro’s features drew up into a puzzled expression. “You no make me?”

“No.” Lex affirmed. “I, _um_ …I found you…frozen in the arctic. My best guess is that you are from another planet and have been here a long time.”

Bizarro stared down at her too pale hands. “Me not from here?”

“Just like Supergirl,” Lex assured the clone. “You believe me, don’t you?” 

A vigorous nod. “Yes. Me trust you shiny head. Tell me where you find me?”

“I’ll draw you a map…and do whatever I can to revive your friend.” Lex started towards the door. “But first, let me help you figure out who you are and where you come from. Will you allow me to run a few tests on you?”

Bizarro followed Lex like a lost puppy as he walked out of the room she had broken into and into one across the hall. In the centre of the room sat a tall, cylindrical chamber, attached to the ceiling through various pipes and cables.

“Am no good at tests.” Bizarro sighed.

“You’ll be great at this one. All you need to do is stand in there. Can you do that?”

“Am think so.”

Lex grabbed the handle to the chamber and wrenched the heavy door open. “Wonderful. Let us begin.”

Bizarro complied eagerly and stepped into the chamber. As soon as she was inside, Lex pushed the door shut and ran to the computer across the room. He activated the chamber with a few buttons, then spoke into the microphone.

“Are you ready?”

“ _Yes_.” Bizarro answered.

Dropping his finger down on the enter key, Lex heard the chamber whir into life. The numbers on the screen in front of him began to rise quicker and quicker. It took less than a minute to hit _150,000_ _˚_ _F_.

“How are you feeling?”

“ _Good_.”

The numbers kept rising.

_1,425,000_

_9,975,375_

_25,000,000_

The inside of the chamber was rivalling the heat at the core of the sun, and Bizarro’s vitals were perfect.

“ _Am warm_.” Bizarro’s voice came through. “ _Did pass test?_ ”

“Even better than I thought.” Lex forced an answer. “Stand by for further testing.”

Diminished mental capacity but in every other way it resembled Supergirl. Without access to Kryptonite, Lex had no way to destroy the creature before Supergirl found out it was created in his lab. There was only one way left Lex could see to destroy Bizarro. Without Kryptonite, it took a Kryptonian to kill a Kryptonian. Other than Supergirl, there was only one on planet Earth.

He needed Reign. 


	25. 59 Months After the Destruction of National City Pt. 2

Typical to the luck he seemed to be running that day, Flash arrived in his office before he could do anything to get rid of Bizarro. Short on time and options Lex had done the only thing he thought he could do. He sent Bizarro to The Fortress of Solitude. She had taken the advice without hesitation, her vague memories of him seemed to make her trust him implicitly, though he couldn’t fully understand why. Best as he could tell, Bizarro had imprinted on him the same way that a newly born chick imprinted on its mother. It had been easy enough for him to hand Bizarro an image of The Fortress and send her out, pointing her north and telling her to keep going until she found the place.

As Lex stood in the elevator, rising from the L-Corp sub-basement to his penthouse office, he pulled up a tab on his tablet. It only took a few button presses for him to access the programs he needed. The screen blinked in front of him;

_Awaiting instruction._

Lex swallowed hard. “Seek and destroy protocol.”

A small green confirm flashed for a moment, then Lex locked the tablet as the lift doors opened with a _ding_. Flash was already in his office, sat behind his desk with his legs propped up casually. Doing his best to stay neutral, Lex stepped out of the lift and started crossing the room. Bizarro was on her way to The Fortress and once she got there, she would be taken care of. He still had to notify Supergirl, once the alarm went off that The Fortress had been breached, he would be expected to tell the Regime. Worse still, with Flash right next to him he couldn’t delay at all.

“Barry,” Lex smiled warmly. “How’s the leg?”

“Better,” The speedster answered, swinging his legs back down to the ground and getting up. “Still trying to get up to speed, so to speak.”

“I can take a look at it if you want?” Lex offered, reaching his desk.

“Later.” Barry tapped a few buttons on Lex’s computer and the holographic display of the new prison leap into the air. “Supergirl wants this finalised today. Let’s get started, we’ve got a lot to deal with.”

Lex didn’t get the chance to reply.

The warning bell tolled from the speakers built into his desk and the hologram of the prison dissolved away, replaced with an ominous red glow. Not waiting for a moment, Lex rounded his desk and began typing away at his computer. It took him a second to pull up the video footage from The Fortress of Solitude, Barry looking over his shoulder the whole time. The two of them stood for a few moments, watching the scene unfold before them. On the monitor they could clearly see Bizarro going toe to toe with Reign.

“Terrific,” Lex activated the emergency broadcast. “I’ve located Supergirl’s duplicate, it’s at The Fortress of Solitude. Reign is currently engaging it.”

Holt’s reply was instant. “ _Got it, calling the boss now_.”

On the feed, the two watched Reign level Bizarro a vicious uppercut that sent her careening through the crystalline ceiling of The Fortress. The whole Fortress seemed to shake on the footage, the camera feed fizzling for a few moments. Reign leapt away after Bizarro, and both of them disappeared from the video.

“Where did they go?” Barry asked.

“I’ve lost visual,” Lex addressed Holt. “They’re outside The Fortress.”

“ _I’ve located Reign, and the monster_.” It was Kara’s voice coming through the feed.

Lex drew in a breath, flicking trough the external camera feeds with one finger trying to regain a visual on the fight. “How’s she performing?”

“ _Hard to tell,_ ” Kara answered. “ _Are you positive she’s under your control?_ ”

“So far,” Lex answered as evenly as possible. “But your presence there might confuse her.”

Reign. Samantha Arias. Lex couldn’t fight the guilt that weighed on him when he thought about her. She had been one of the few who hadn’t wanted to take a side in the war, had wanted to just continue living her life without getting involved with the Regime or the Insurgents. Lex couldn’t blame her really. He had been there when Lena had been doing everything in her power to help Sam understand what was happening to her, had been there alongside his sister and Kara trying to help. It had taken the three of them months of work, but they eventually managed to destroy the Reign personality without removing the Kryptonian DNA from Sam. After that, she had considered taking up a mantle like Kara, becoming a hero, but her heart hadn’t been in it.

Then, Merlyn had happened, and National City had been vaporised. Sam had disappeared the second Supergirl had started waging her war on crime and Alex had sworn to stop her. Another Kryptonian would have swayed the battle they all knew that, and apparently so did Sam. It had taken five years for Supergirl to finally find her, and even then Sam had refused to fight. Supergirl gave her every chance to join the Regime of her own accord, at least that was what she told Lex when she dropped a sobbing Sam at L-Corp and told him to find a way to make her useful.

Mind control. Lex hated himself for doing it to Sam. A woman his sister had once considered her best friend. Every step of the way Sam had pleaded with him to stop, not to make her use her powers for the Regime. In the memory of the woman they had both loved as a sister, Sam had pleaded with Lex to stop, to let her go. He hadn’t done it. It had almost killed him, but Lex found a way. Devise a collar that allowed them to control Sam almost perfectly.

She wasn’t Sam anymore. Not really.

“ _Supergirl?_ ” Bizarro’s voice came through the feed. “ _We am sisters_.”

Lex watched Reign tackle Bizarro out of the sky, Kara sweeping back a few feet to avoid getting caught up in the attack.

“ _You expect me to stand here and spectate?_ ”

“If you really want to test the efficiency of the mind control technology, stand down and let Reign do what she was instructed to do.”

There was a pregnant pause. “ _Fine._ ”

Lex let out a sigh of relief. If Supergirl got involved there was a chance she could stop Reign before she could eliminate Bizarro.

“You’re seriously controlling Reign from here?” Barry asked, disdain heavy in his voice.

Lex couldn’t blame him. Barry had always been Supergirl’s most vocal critic within her own camp, and Lex had never disagreed with anything the Speedster had said, even if he never had openly back Barry.

“Thus far.”

“Then I’m glad we’re over here.” Barry crossed his arms.

“ _Lex, I need to be clear on one thing,_ ” Supergirl’s voice came over the comms again. “ _I want to find out where the monster came from. I need her alive._ ”

Lex sighed. “Understood.”

The program was holding strong. All the readouts compiling on Lex’s computer told him that Reign was fighting at full capacity. She seemed capable of distinguishing between objectives. Despite his concerns she could differentiate between Supergirl and Bizarro even though they looked almost identical. But somehow, Reign was losing.

“ _The imposter has the upper hand, I’m stepping in_.” Supergirl announced.

With a few keystrokes Lex transferred the main video footage from outside The Fortress onto the monitors that took up most of the space on the wall adjacent to his desk. He and Barry watched as Supergirl swept in and smashed her fist into Bizarro’s chin.

For the briefest of moments, Lex could see Supergirl and Bizarro right next to each other. In the strangest way, it gave him an obscene amount of perspective on how much had changed the last five years. Bizarro wore Supergirl’s original costume; bright red and blue, thigh high boots and a skirt, crest of the House of El modestly displayed. She had changed so much. The bulk of her uniform was a deep navy blue, skirt swapped out for pants, the crest now took up almost her whole chest, emblem stretching down into a point the joined the red of her belt. Compared to her former self, Kara truly did look more High Counsellor than Supergirl. 

The feed from Reign’s bodycam flashed up in front of him. Bizarro was on the ground a few dozen meters away, Supergirl stood in front of Reign, back turned. Barry wasn’t looking at Lex, his focus on the camera feeds displayed on the various external monitors. Lex’s attention drifted down to Reign’s program. He knew what his options were. He could end Kara’s rule right there. With a shaky hand, Lex changed Reign’s targeting parameters to _all_.

“ _Reign just attacked Kara!_ ” Holt’s voice jumped onto the comms. “ _What’s going on, Lex?_ ”

Lex steeled himself. “I told Kara not to insert herself into the fight. Reign must be confused.”

“ _Supergirl hit me?!_ ” Bizarro bellowed. “ _Me hit Supergirl!_ ”

On the video feed, Lex and Barry watched as both Reign and Bizarro attacked Supergirl. In a few moments, she was down on her back, the two other Kryptonians beat her down with blow after blow.

“I thought you had her under control?” Barry rounded on Lex. “They’re _both_ attacking Kara!”

“Like I told Kara…” Doing everything in his power to keep himself steady, Lex answered. “Reign is confused. Two foes who look the same.”

“I can’t watch this. I’ve got to do something.” Barry disappeared in a blur of lightning.

Lex sat back in his chair. All he had to do was nothing.

“ _Hang in there, Kara,_ ” Holt’s voice came through the comms. “ _Back up is on the way._ ”

For a whole minute, Lex sat in silence watching Kara take hit after hit. She could hardly get to her feet. Every time she tried, she was beaten back to the floor. Lex could see the blood trickling from her nose via Reign’s bodycam, the tears in her uniform, the cuts on her face. They would kill her before Barry got there.

“I can’t,” Lex spoke to himself, pulling up Reign’s targeting parameters again. “Not like this. I’m no murderer.”

Barry arrived and swept Kara away in a yellow haze, just as Lex swapped Reign’s focus back to Bizarro.

“Reign is back online.” Lex addressed the group via his comms. “How’s Kara?”

“ _She’ll live._ ” Barry replied.

Lex turned his focus back to Reign’s bodycam. With Kara out of the way and Bizarro distracted by the sudden appearance of Flash, Reign easily gained the upper hand. She had her arms wrapped around Bizarro’s head, twisting with inhuman force. Through Reign’s feed, he could hear Bizarro.

“ _Ow-ow-ow…_ ” Bizarro was practically weeping. “ _Hurts…hurts…much…_ ”

The cries were cut of by a resounding _krk-krk-krunch_.

Lex let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Bizarro was dealt with.


	26. 60 Months After the Destruction of National City

“Why did you save me Barry?”

“Because Maggie deserves a proper funeral service, and it wouldn’t be one without you.” Barry answered sadly, looking down at Alex.

She was bloodied, almost definitely had a broken bone or two despite the green pill. Stubborn idiot went toe to toe with Supergirl trying to find out if she was the one who ordered Maggie’s death. Barry didn’t want to think about it too hard. He knew that Supergirl was willing to kill, almost all of them were after five years. In one way or another, Barry had been able to justify every death Supergirl had caused, all the blood on her hands. He had told himself that she hadn’t been left with a choice, that she had only killed when she had to, if there was no other option.

She vaporised J’onn with her heat vision because he was going to kill Mon-El, or so she had told them. Digg had been attacking The Fortress with the Insurgents in another attempt to kidnap Eliza and Jeremiah Danvers. Oliver…he was never going to stop trying to kill her. She didn’t have a choice.

Ordering an assassination of a civilian though, even if Maggie had sided with the Insurgency, was something different. Not only that, it had been Count Vertigo who did it, allegedly after escaping from the newly built prison on Stryker’s Island. What had been done to Maggie had been beyond brutal, beyond sadistic. Barry didn’t want to admit that Supergirl was willing to go _that_ far.

“She won’t forgive you for this.” Alex hissed, clutching her arm.

“Too bad for her.”

“Be careful.”

“You too.” Barry turned to leave. “I’m sure I’ll see you around—”

“Wait.” Alex called out to stop him. “You’re the _only_ one with the power to stop this.” Barry turned around. “You can use the speed force, go back in time and stop Merlyn before it’s too late. Save Lena, National City…”

“You’re asking me to go back and change history?”

“I am.”

Barry would by lying if he said he had never considered it. When National City had been destroyed and they found out Kara had killed Merlyn, he had thought about going back to stop it. Oliver had been the one to talk him out of it, reminding him that there was no telling what else could happen, what other tragedy might be caused by saving National City. Kara herself didn’t ask him to do it once, never even mentioned. Barry had always wondered why.

“Why now? Because of Maggie?”

“Not just Maggie. Too many dead.” Alex hung her head. “And Kara…she’s not Kara anymore.”

“We don’t know what changing history would do to the timeline.” Barry countered.

“It can’t be worse than what we have.” Alex looked up to him. “Please Barry…you have the ace in the hole. At least consider it.”

“I’ll think about it.” Barry answered. “And Alex, stop being so reckless. Next time I might not be there to bail you out.”

_XXX_

“The way Prometheus was taunting me, I know he knows.” Jefferson sighed.

“Of course he does. Creep.” Barry replied without hesitation.

The two were sat atop the Golden Gate Bridge, a location Barry had chosen for them to talk. Of all the members of The League, Jefferson had been the one Barry found it easiest to talk to. He knew they shared some of the same doubts. Jefferson had even stood with the Insurgents in the beginning. But he had defected to the Regime and Barry had found someone he could talk to.

“I was going to talk to Vertigo can find out for myself…” Jefferson trailed off.

“Why didn’t you?” Barry asked after a few moments.

Jefferson finally looked at Barry. “I don’t know. How can you believe anything he says?”

“Or maybe,” Barry drew in a breath. “You _will_ believe him. And that means we’re standing with a cold blooded killer.”

The two drifted into silent reverie again. The stakes seemed to be getting higher by the day. The doubts finding newer and stronger footholds within them. In the beginning, things had been simple. Supergirl’s vendetta had changed things.

“Did you hear about that Cadmus clan? Two hundred protestors found dead. At first I thought it was the Bizarro-Supergirl…”

“The timelines don’t add up.” Barry supplied.

The Cadmus clan had been one of the more worrying groups that had sprung up since the destruction of National City. They were one of a plethora, the Church of Rao, the Outsiders, all the others. The Cadmus clan was different. There were dozens of them, all from different walks of life, gathering because they wanted an end to Supergirl and her Regime. Gathering under the banner of Cadmus, of the woman who had tried to kill Supergirl…in the name of Lillian Luthor.

One of the things Barry could honestly say he was proud of helping to do with the Regime was the total equality between aliens and humans across the planet. Cadmus had done a lot of damage, but the incident in Metropolis was unjustified. Over two hundred of them, peacefully protesting Supergirl’s leadership by all accounts, burnt alive. 

“I talked to Holt, but he won’t admit anything.” Jefferson let his head hang for a moment. “Barry, what the hell have we become?”

“Unless you’re going to do something about it…” Barry began. “Maybe you should stop asking.”


	27. 62 Months After the Destruction of National City

“How’s Kara?”

Lex dropped his case of tools in surprise, wheeling around to see Alex stepping from the shadows.

“I assume she’s going to be okay?”

“You shouldn’t be here Alex.” Lex asserted, though he supposed Supergirl wouldn’t overhear them given her state.

Hawkman had arrived at the Hall of Justice demanding that Kendra left the Regime. He had never directly joined the Regime or the Insurgents, in fact no one had seen him for months before the destruction of National City. Out of the blue, he had turned up insisting that he and Kendra left, that neither of them had a place in the Regime. Kendra had disagreed, had wanted to remain at Supergirl’s side protecting the planet, and Carter rounded on Kara. Even with a chunk of Kryptonite in his mace, he hadn’t stood a chance against Supergirl. The fight had ended with Hawkman’s neck snapped and his lifeless body thrown into the L-Corp labs for Lex to study.

“I know, but this is long overdue. The Regime can fight as many battles as it needs to. I can’t…I’m running out of options.”

“The Kryptonite that Hawkman used was synthetic, it’s already degraded beyond the point of use. So, unless you know where we can find some…”

“I do. Under Queen Mansion.”

“You can’t be serious—”

“Oliver built a kryptonite weapon that Supergirl doesn’t know about. A failsafe.”

“What’s the catch?” Lex asked. “Why haven’t we looked into this before now?”

“Oliver designed safeguards into the weapon, it needs DNA from people close to Supergirl. Myself, him, Sara, others…”

“So, people who are either dead or with the Regime?”

“Yes.”

“Hmmm…” Lex paused for thought, his eyes drifting for a moment.

“What?”

“That’s the answer, right there!” Lex’s eyes went wide.

Alex followed his gaze. Lex was staring at one of the clone tanks, a long dead duplicate of Supergirl floating in the tank gel, glowing eerily in the blue fluid. After everything that had happened with Bizarro, Alex didn’t want to think for a second that Lex had plans to try and duplicate the rest of the Justice League.

“That twisted Supergirl clone?” Alex drew her eyebrows together.

“Not exactly,” Lex began with a smirk. “We need the Justice League to operate the weapon, but who says they have to be from _our_ Earth?”

She hated admitting it, but Lex was brilliant.

“Am I understanding you right,” Alex began, a little of Lex’s grin making its way onto her face. “You want to abduct alternate versions of the Justice League from an _alternate universe_ and use their DNA to unlock the Kryptonite weapon?”

Lex shrugged. “Pretty much.”

“And you know where to find them and _how_ to bring them here?”

“There where is simple,” Lex began casually as if he had all the details figured out after only a moment of thinking. “STAR Labs has been tracking and compiling data on alternate Earths for years…”

Alex began to understand his plan. “Data we can hack into. But The Flash is the only person I know who can travel between realities and he isn’t going to help us.”

Lex crossed the room and pressed one palm flat against the wall. “He’s been helping us and he doesn’t even know it.”

A section of the wall slid open, a yellow glow bleeding through into the rest of the room. Lex walked forward into the newly revealed area, and Alex followed, curious about what his plan was.

“Ever since Kara tasked me to build that new super-prison on Stryker’s Island I’ve been working with Barry. The only reason the prison is completed is thanks to his super-speed efforts.” Lex continued.

The new area opened up into a large room, utterly bare expect for a glass chamber in the centre. In the chamber crackled a bright yellow storm, electricity snatching at the glass and sprawling out in all directions. Alex knew what it was immediately.

“You’ve been siphoning off his speed force energy for this?” Alex asked.

“Not specifically for this, but just in case.” Lex turned to her, still grinning. “We just need a device that we can reconfigure with speed force energy.”

“A Mother Box.”

“Precisely,” Lex nodded. “And you know who has one…STAR Labs.”

Alex grimaced. “In the most heavily fortified and well-defended armoury on the planet.”

“That you’re going to have to break in and out of,” Lex pointed out. “You think you can do it?”

It was Alex’s turn to grin. “Yes. But I have a better idea.”


	28. 63 Months After the Destruction of National City

“Why me?”

“Because you’re one of the few people who can pull this off.” Alex crossed her arms over her chest. “And I need someone they won’t see coming...someone who can fly under the radar. Someone who isn't me.”

Slade chuckled. "I image you're at the top of their most wanted list."

Slade Wilson. Deathstroke. Former assassin for hire. The deadliest man on planet Earth. Or at least, he had been until the Regime took over. The moment Supergirl started declaring war on conflict across the planet, the market for mercenaries dried up and Slade had been forced into retirement. Not that he was doing bad for himself. Alex had been keeping tabs on Slade since the beginning, one of the loose ends Oliver told her was worth watching out for, a potential ally if ever they needed him. Slade was holed up in a multi-million dollar mansion in Bali, drinking half-century old scotch by the bottle.

“What makes you think I give a damn about the Regime?” Slade asked, leaning back in his chair.

Alex could tell that retirement didn’t suit him.

“You can't want to live in a world like this," Alex answered. She weighed her next words carefully before speaking, knowing that if she pissed Slade off she wouldn't be leaving Bali alive. "And Supergirl killed Oliver, I know you cared for him like a brother. Now’s your chance to get even.” 

The assassin got up from his sun chair, tipping out the glass of scotch he had been holding, the amber liquid spilling unceremoniously onto the ground. “What’s the job?” Slade grimaced.

“Breaking into the Regime armoury to retrieve a Mother Box. We can get you in but getting out will be up to you.”

“A suicide mission.” Slade smiled. “Sounds like fun.”

_XXX_

“They captured Deathstroke,” Lex spoke as he walked into the command room of the Insurgency HQ. “Holt just confirmed it.”

“Do they have any idea why he was there?” Alex asked, not turning her attention from the computer in front of her.

“He’s not talking.” Lex answered.

Alex grinned. “He won’t.” 

She had been right to trust Slade. Everything in her had warned against it at first, even with the assurance Oliver had once given her. The world had changed. Criminals were easier for her to trust than the heroes she had once fought side by side with. Alex pinched the bridge of her nose, scrunching her eyes up as she tried to put the thoughts of just how much the world had changed out of her mind.

“He failed to retrieve the device.” Lex walked up behind Alex, looking at the screen. “Wait, is that—”

“A full 3-D schematic of a Mother Box? Yes.”

“Deathstroke digitally mapped it and sent it to you?”

“He knew he wasn’t going to be able to make it out of there, so he did what he had to do.” Alex looked over the plans for what felt like the hundredth time. “Question is, can we use it to build our machine?”

“Absolutely.”


	29. 65 Months After the Destruction of National City

“ ** _ALEX!!_** ”

Supergirl had found them. Typical luck that her timing was damn near perfect. They had been minutes from having the transporter up and running, then they would have summoned the Justice League from an alternate dimension. But Supergirl got to them first. They were lucky, Alex supposed, that it had taken five years for her to even think to look for them in the right place.

The Pacific Lead Mines of Northwest Alaska, it was perfect, and nothing short of a stroke of genius that Queen Industries had owned it. Oliver really had been a brilliant bastard; paranoid, untrusting, an outright headcase, but brilliant. Five years the Insurgency had operated out of the lead mine, Supergirl had never once thought to look for them there.

“Completely lined with lead. Clever hideout!” Supergirl bellowed, her voice echoing through the corridors. “But it couldn’t stop me from finding you! Come out and face me!”

Alex snarled in anger as she ran down the corridor towards Supergirl. She needed to buy time. Felicity and Kate were still working on the transporter, she had to give them time to pull over the other Justice League to stop Kara. But someone must have sold them out, otherwise Supergirl would never have found them. Her mind ran through every possible situation as she closed in on Kara.

A burst of energy shattered through the wall next to her, and Alex was forced to drop into a roll to avoid being sliced in two by Supergirl’s heat vision. Panting, already running out of breath, Alex forced herself to a stop. Hand digging into her pocket, Alex retrieved the 5-U-93-R pill she had and swallowed it with a swift movement.

“ _ALEX!_ ” Supergirl called out again. “Come out so we can finish it!”

Swallowing hard, Alex stepped around the corner.

“You want another shot at the title?”

Supergirl didn’t hesitate. She took off from her position, fists raised, and reached Alex faster than she could blink. The Kryptonian smashed into Alex, gripping her jacket and pinning her up against the wall behind her. Alex felt the wall behind her give, hearing the concrete crumble under the force of Supergirl’s attack.

“This is the end, Alex,” Supergirl growled. At superspeed, Kara threw Alex up against the opposite wall. “No more plans,” She closed the distance again, gripping Alex and lifting her off the ground. “No more tricks. **_Nothing!_** ”

With that, Supergirl threw Alex against the wall with such brute force she broke through it clean. Alex rolled onto her back, grunting in pain despite the green pill. She felt the rubble collapse around her, flecks of dust filling the air.

“You’re all alone, Alex. Broken and defeated.” A new voice spoke.

Alex managed to lift her head enough to see Mon-El and Killer Frost approaching through the corridor as Supergirl hovered through the hole in the wall. With clenched fists, Alex forced herself to a knee.

“ _Alex, it’s Felicity, I really hope you can hear me. The transporter is damaged._ ” Alex’s comms fizzled in her ear. “ _We’re trying to fix it, but we need more time._ ”

“After all this,” Supergirl hovered over her. “You can’t possibly believe it was worth it.

Instinct told Alex to get to her feet, but Supergirl touched down in front of her, glaring down with hard eyes.

“Stay down.” Supergirl stood over Alex. “Don’t make it worse for yourself.”

“I hear you,” Alex hissed, clutching her chest in pain. “Maybe I can finally accept that it’s over. But if you’re wondering if I think it was all worth it…I’m not sure.” Alex spat a mouthful of blood to the floor.

“I do.” Supergirl spoke. “It was worth every ounce of pain, every drop of blood…because this world is safer _with_ the Regime than without it.”

“You’ve enforced peace all over the world. Taken the guns and bombs out of the hands of every citizen…but along with that you _stole_ their freedom.”

“No, I’ve made them _safer_. This is what mankind needs.”

“It’s a police state.”

“Jeez, what is this…class debate?” Killer Frost chimed in.

“It’s a conversation. One we should have had a long time ago.” Alex answered.

“It’s too late for words.” Mon-El spoke.

“Please, it shouldn’t end like this.” Alex ignored Mon-El, her focus on Supergirl. “Set aside how much we’ve fought and listen for a moment… Kara, I am so sorry for what Merlyn did to you. You lost too much, more than anyone should have to bear. But deep down, the Supergirl I know, the _sister_ I **_love_** , she must know that killing him was wrong.”

“This is pathetic.” Killer Frost smirked.

“It’s the _truth_. Look at where that road led you, Kara.” Alex forced down her pain and continued. “Willing to destroy the entire city of Atlantis.”

“An appropriate show of force to avoid war.” Supergirl answered quickly.

“To _avoid_ war? Like what you did to the UN military? Slaughtering world leaders and foot soldiers like animals?”

“That _was_ war.” Mon-El burst out. “One _you_ helped perpetuate.”

“Is that what you call it?” Alex clambered to her feet. “No…this isn’t war. This feel too personal. The blood of J’onn, Digg, Oliver, Constantine, and Carter…all on your hands, Kara… and Maggie.” Alex glared at Supergirl. “No sense in denying it now.” Supergirl didn’t answer, but her eyes dropped just enough that Alex knew the truth. “Kara, is this the world that your parents envisioned when they sent you here?”

“Don’t—”

“Do you think they wanted you to rule the Earth with an iron fist? Would Zor-El be proud? Or would he feel like mom and dad--?”

“ ** _Enough!_** ” Supergirl struck Alex with a backhand and she staggered back a few paces, blood dripping from her mouth.

“—ashamed to see his daughter a dictator.” Kara shot forward and gripped Alex by the throat. “A death squad at her side to help carry out her dirty work.”

“No! I’ve built a better world…free from violence, war, and pain!”

“A subjugated world. Is that what you were sent here for? To conquer!?”

“It’s a trick.” Kara’s eyes went wide. “You’re not trying to reason with me. It’s a distraction!”

With that she shot off, her super hearing guiding her to the Insurgents.

“ _Are you ready?_ ”

“ _Do it_.”

Kara shattered through the wall. Into the room, she saw Felicity Smoak and Kate Kane, both working on some device she couldn’t identify. On screens around the room she saw video of the Justice League. It wasn’t them, the people she saw on the screens were not her allies of old.

“What is this?!” Kara bellowed.

“What real justice looks like!” Felicity shouted.

She hit the button and the room was consumed with a blue lightning. Kara’s vision faded to white and when the world returned, she found herself in a desert. She let out a scream of anger, and a moment later Mon-El was flying to her side.

“Kara, there you are.” He flew up to her, hands cupping her face. “We got scattered to the wind.”

Kara grabbed his hands and pulled them from her face.

“Alex is out there somewhere.” Kara snarled. “ ** _Find her!_** ”


End file.
